A study on nutritional status of elderly and its correlates from urban field practice areas of SGRRIM&HS, Dehradun

Introduction: Number of elderly persons is rapidly increasing worldwide, mostly in developing countries. The elderly are at increased risk of nutritional inadequacy which, if detected in time, can be reversed. A comprehensive nutritional assessment tool called Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) has been confirmed to detect malnutrition in the elderly with reasonable accuracy. Aims and Objectives: To detect the prevalence and correlates of malnutrition in the elderly. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in urban field practice area of Department of Community Medicine, SGRRIM&HS, Dehradun using a pre designed, pre tested questionnaire filled by trained health teams. Data was analyzed with SPSS version 23. Result: Prevalence of malnutrition in elderly was found to be 32.2% which is significantly associated with changes in food intake and weight over past three months, mobility, neuropsychological problems, acute disease/psychological stress and BMI. Conclusion: Malnutrition in the elderly can be managed with a multi-disciplinary approach that treats the pathology as well as uses social and dietary interventions.