FATORES QUE REDUZEM O CONSUMO ALIMENTAR DE IDOSOS RESIDENTES EM INSTITUIÇÕES GERIÁTRICAS

There is a high incidence of nutritional risk and malnutrition among the elderly population in long-stay institutions. Thus, inview of the greater biological fragility of thispublic, any damage that results in nutritional deficiency deserves attention. Thestudy aimed to evaluate factors such as polypharmacy, length of stay, odynophagia, among others that affect the food consumption of elderly people living in geriatric institutions in Colatina-ES. Bibliographic research was carried out, in addition to a quantitative, cross-sectional study, with the application of a structured questionnaire, analysis of medical recordsand collection of rest-intake. The sample consisted of 35 institutionalized elderly. Pearson's chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were performed for data analysis, considering a statistical relationship with p <0.05. The results showed that there is a relationship between reduced food consumption and length of stay, with inadequacies being more prevalent among newly arrived patients (p = 0.032). Participants who took more than five drugs a day also had a higher prevalence of inadequacy in the Rest-Ingestion Index (p = 0.018). Regarding the results obtained through the questionnaire, among those who said they stopped eating or eating less than usual due to sadness, 80.0% had inadequate food intake, showing a significant relationship between this event and impaired consumption (p = 0.016 ). The same connection was found among those who frequently stated that they either eat less or did not eatdue to lack of appetite on the day (p = 0.018) or when the meal was served (p = 0.041). Thus, the importance of improving the professionals who assist this population is reinforced, in order to seek to mitigate environmental and age-related impacts that foster nutritional disorders