Risk of Malnutrition and Its Association with Economic Maintenance in Inpatients Older Adults at a University-Affiliated Hospital

Abstract

The demographic aging has led to an increase in the prevalence of malnutrition. Malnutrition risk (MR) is considered as a multifactorial condition associated with an increased morbi-mortality in older adults. The association between MR and socioeconomic factors as the form of economic maintenance (EM) is not yet clear in aged population. However, an effective strategy for the diagnosis of MR is the comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA). The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of malnutrition risk and its associations with the form of economic maintenance in inpatients older adults at a university-affiliated hospital in Mexico. It is a cross-sectional study in participants aged 60 or older, recruited between September 2017 and April 2018. Participants underwent a CGA, and diagnosis of malnutrition risk and EM was obtained. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was determined to establish the association between the form of economic maintenance and malnutrition risk. We included 74 subjects; mean age was 73 years (SD=±9), and women accounted for 48%. This study shows that the prevalence of malnutrition risk is 31% in the studied population. The hospitalized elderly whose maintenance depends on a government assistance program or exclusive support of their social networks had an increase in the probability of malnutrition risk. These results suggest that the EM could have an influence on the health of the inpatients Mexican older adults.

Keywords: Malnutrition risk, economic maintenance, older adults, food security

Cite this Article

Avelar-González AK, Cárdenas-Caro LN, Díaz-Ramos JA et al. Risk of Malnutrition and Its Association with Economic Maintenance in Inpatients Older Adults at a University-Affiliated Hospital. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Health Professions. 2018; 8(2): 31–36p.