Aging & Social Change: Ninth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

Older adults are more vulnerable to malnutrition due to several age-related physiological and functional changes. This study assesses the nutritional status of institutionalized elderly females and explores the association between their nutritional statuses and other determinants. Cross-sectional study of 38 females aged 60 years and over who were resident at the Social Welfare Home for Elderly Females in Riyadh. Anthropocentric/biochemical data, medications, and length of residency were retrieved form their medical records. Nutritional status was assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment tool. More than 94% of the residents were malnourished or at risk of developing malnutrition. Twenty-one percent of the resident were underweight (BMI below 18.5 kg/m2) and 60% of them were categorized as overweight/obese (BMI above 25 kg/m2). Twenty-one subjects had albumin status below the reference range. Total protein and hemoglobin were below the desirable values in 29% and 34% subjects respectively. Significantly greater percentage of malnourished residents were dependent for mobility (p<0.001) or require assistant during feeding (p=0.023). Physical dependencies was an independent predictor of the nutritional status among our sample (β=2.375; SE 0.800; p=0.006). According to several nutritional assessment methods, the majority of institutionalized elderly females at the Social Welfare Home for Elderly Females in Riyadh were malnourished or at risk of developing malnutrition. This study underlines the association between nutritional status and physical dependencies among this age group. Strategies for effective nutritional care should be implemented for institutionalized older adults to treat and prevent the malnutrition and to improve their quality of life.