Nutritional status and food-related quality of life in hospitalised older adults

Food-related quality of life among older adults living in community: A multi-factorial approach

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Food-related quality of life (FRQoL) assesses the specific impact of diet, eating behaviors, and food-related anxiety on a person's Health-related quality of life. The food serves a set of purposes that go beyond supplying the basic physiological needs, it also has a hedonic and social dimension. In addition, the relationship between food and health and well-being nowadays is unquestionable. This study aims to investigate the multidimensional aspects of FRQoL by identification the underlying factors associated to it.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study is part of the Pronutrisenior project and included 602 older adults (>65 years old) from Vila Nova da Gaia, Portugal. Data were collected by a questionnaire of indirect application by trained nutritionists in a face-to-face situation. FRQoL was assessed by The Satisfaction with Food-Related Life Scale.

RESULTS

Women, younger individuals and those with inadequate social support network had lower FRQoL. Insomnia and nutritional risk were also related to lower FRQoL.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings should be taken into account in clinical practice in order to optimize the intervention of health professionals, and the groups identified as having lower FRQoL should be given special attention.

Cross-cultural measurement invariance in the satisfaction with food-related life scale in older adults from two developing countries

BACKGROUND

Nutrition is one of the major determinants of successful aging. The Satisfaction with Food-related Life (SWFL) scale measures a person's overall assessment regarding their food and eating habits. The SWFL scale has been used in older adult samples across different countries in Europe, Asia and America, however, there are no studies that have evaluated the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the scale in older adult samples. Therefore, we evaluated the measurement invariance of the SWFL scale across older adults from Chile and Ecuador.

METHODS

Stratified random sampling was used to recruit a sample of older adults of both genders from Chile (mean age = 71.38, SD = 6.48, range = 60-92) and from Ecuador (mean age = 73.70, SD = 7.45, range = 60-101). Participants reported their levels of satisfaction with food-related life by completing the SWFL scale, which consists of five items grouped into a single dimension. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine cross-cultural measurement invariance of the SWFL scale.

RESULTS

Results showed that the SWFL scale exhibited partial measurement invariance, with invariance of all factor loadings, invariance in all but one item's threshold (item 1) and invariance in all items' uniqueness (residuals), which leads us to conclude that there is a reasonable level of partial measurement invariance for the CFA model of the SWFL scale, when comparing the Chilean and Ecuadorian older adult samples. The lack of invariance in item 1 confirms previous studies with adults and emerging adults in Chile that suggest this item is culture-sensitive. We recommend revising the wording of the first item of the SWFL in order to relate the statement with the person's life.

CONCLUSIONS

The SWFL scale shows partial measurement invariance across older adults from Chile and Ecuador. A 4-item version of the scale (excluding item 1) provides the basis for international comparisons of satisfaction with food-related life in older adults from developing countries in South America.

Longitudinal multigroup invariance analysis of the satisfaction with food-related life scale in university students

This study examined longitudinal measurement invariance in the Satisfaction with Food-related Life (SWFL) scale using follow-up data from university students. We examined this measure of the SWFL in different groups of students, separated by various characteristics. Through non-probabilistic longitudinal sampling, 114 university students (65.8% female, mean age: 22.5) completed the SWFL questionnaire three times, over intervals of approximately one year. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine longitudinal measurement invariance. Two types of analysis were conducted: first, a longitudinal invariance by time, and second, a multigroup longitudinal invariance by sex, age, socio-economic status and place of residence during the study period. Results showed that the 3-item version of the SWFL exhibited strong longitudinal invariance (equal factor loadings and equal indicator intercepts). Longitudinal multigroup invariance analysis also showed that the 3-item version of the SWFL displays strong invariance by socio-economic status and place of residence during the study period over time. Nevertheless, it was only possible to demonstrate equivalence of the longitudinal factor structure among students of both sexes, and among those older and younger than 22 years. Generally, these findings suggest that the SWFL scale has satisfactory psychometric properties for longitudinal measurement invariance in university students with similar characteristics as the students that participated in this research. It is also possible to suggest that satisfaction with food-related life is associated with sex and age.