World Journal of
Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences

ASSOCIATION OF APPETITE, FUNCTIONAL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL STATUS WITH THE MALNUTRITION AMONG ELDERLY RESIDING IN OLD AGE HOMES

Ankita Sehjpal Sharma* and Kavita Tiwari

ABSTRACT

Malnutrition is a common phenomenon among the elderly and quite often related to psychological and functional problems. The objective of this study was to determine malnutrition risk and its association with appetite, functional and psychosocial status among elderly residing in old age homes of Delhi. The study was conducted among 200 subjects (male=100 and female=100), with a mean age of 79.1 ± 5.52 years (male) and 76.7 ± 7.44 years (female), who were interviewed to obtain information on malnutrition risk and appetite using Mini Nutritional Assessment and Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire. Functional status was also determined using Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) and Elderly Mobility Scale (EMS). Geriatric Depression Scale was used to identify cognitive impairment, depressive symptoms and loneliness status of subjects respectively. A total of 29% of subjects were at risk of malnutrition and 43.5% had poor appetite. The mean scores of EMS of the elderly who were dependent in mobility were 9± 0 and about 50.5% of the subjects were having low functional ability. Pearson correlation showed that the nutritional status was positively correlated with the appetite (0.75) and functional ability (0.72). It was also found that there was a negative correlation between the nutritional status and depression level (-0.53) of the elderly. The correlation indicates that if the subjects have good appetite and indulge in light activities then there will be an improvement in their nutritional status. Malnutrition risk was prevalent and associated with poor appetite, functional status and psychosocial problems among the elderly subjects.

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