Last update:
   22-Mar-2022
 

Arch Hellen Med, 39(1), January-February 2022, 72-81

ORIGINAL PAPER

Assessment of the nutritional status of elderly people attending the Open Care Centers
in the Municipality of Keratsini-Drapetsona,
and correlation with socioeconomic status and health indicators

E. Arvanitaki,1,2 T. Vasilakou1
1Department of Public Health Policy, School of Public Health, University of West Attica, Athens,
2Open Elderly Care Center of the Municipality of Keratsini-Drapetsona, Keratsini, Greece

OBJECTIVE Evaluation of the nutritional status of the elderly people who attend the Open Care Centers in Keratsini-Drapetsona, and investigation of associated factors.

METHOD The study involved 150 people aged 60 and over (45.3% men and 54.7% women) who were attending the nine Open Care Centers in the municipality of Keratsini-Drapetsona. Demographic and medical data were recorded, and the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) questionnaire was used to assess their nutritional status. Statistical analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 23.0, and the level of significance was set at p<0.05.

RESULTS Of the 150 elderly people who participated in the study, 64.7% were found to have good nutritional status, 34.0% were at risk of malnutrition, and 1.3% already fulfilled the criteria for malnutrition. According to x2 testing, the Nutrition Indicator Index in this population showed statistically significant correlation with sex (p=0.001), home ownership (p=0.005), economic status (p=0.021), present paid work (p=0.019), alcohol consumption (p=0.004), amount of alcohol consumed (p=0.019), alcohol consumption with others (p=0.016), food intake during the last three months (p=0.000), loss of weight during the last three months (p=0.000), psychological stress or acute illness during the last three months (p=0.000), presence of neuropsychiatric problems (p=0.002), use of more than three prescription drugs per day (p=0.03), use of dietary supplements (p=0.0045), daily consumption of full meals (p=0.001), protein intake index (p=0.003), daily consumption of dairy products (p=0.016), weekly consumption of eggs or legumes (p=0.008), self-assessment of nutritional status (p=0.000), health assessment in relation to peers (p=0.000), use of privately owned car (p=0.042), and place of meals (p=0.002).

CONCLUSIONS The percentage of elderly people at risk of malnutrition was high and alarming, as the sample consisted of elderly people who, apart from the usual chronic conditions that accompany old age, were seemingly healthy people, living independently in the community.

Key words: Community, Elderly, Malnutrition, Nutrition, Nutrition Index.

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