Association between combinations of nutritional status and quality of life and food purchasing motives among the elderly in South Korea

IS CALF CIRCUMFERENCE ASSOCIATED WITH CLINICAL AND NUTRITIONAL OUTCOME IN OLDER PATIENTS?

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have shown a relationship between calf circumference (CC) and outcomes in hospitalized patients.

AIMS

To investigate the relationship between CC and clinical and nutritional outcomes in older in-patients (OiP) in a surgery ward.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study with 417 OiP in a surgery ward. Clinical variables, anthropometry, and nutritional screening instruments such as subjective global assessment (SGA), mini nutritional assessment (MNA), and nutritional risk screening (NRS) were used in the investigation. The tests Pearson's chi-square, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman's coefficient, and multiple linear regression analyses were used to review the factors associated with CC.

RESULTS

Lower CC values were found in the age group 80 years and over (p<0.0001), presence of complications (p=0.0269), NRS (p<0.0001), SGA (p<0.0001), and MNA (p<0.0001). Gender (p=0.0011; partial R2=0.01151), age (p=0.0002; partial R2=0.06032), body mass index (p≤0.0001; partial R2=0.40820), and arm circumference (p≤0.0001; partial R2=0.11890) are variables that together were associated with CC. There was also a relationship between SGA (p=0.0166; partial R2=0.00605) and absence of complications during hospitalization (p=0.0047; R2=0.01154) with CC.

CONCLUSIONS

Gender, age, body mass index, and arm circumference were jointly associated with CC, in addition to SGA and absence of complications. The CC is a relevant indicator for OiP in the clinical practice.

Associations between Food Groups and Health-Related Quality of Life in Korean Adults

This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the associations between food groups and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The data of 14,979 participants in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2016 and 2018 were examined. The HRQoL was assessed with EuroQol-5 Dimension. The 24-h recall test was used to examine the dietary intake of food groups. Males and females accounted for 13.79% and 21.62% of the low HRQoL groups. The males in the lowest tertile of the “vegetables” and “fish and shellfish” food groups were more likely to have a low HRQoL (odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.25 (1.05–1.65), 1.45 (1.12–1.89), respectively) than those in the highest tertile, whereas those in the lowest tertile of the “cereal and grain products” were less likely to have a low HRQoL (OR (95% CI) = 0.69 (0.52–0.91)). The females in the lowest tertile of the “vegetables” food group were more likely to have a low HRQoL (OR (95% CI) = 1.56 (1.17–3.01)) than those in the highest tertile. After adjusting for confounders indagated with not only dietary but also non-dietary factors such as stress, we found that low HRQoL was significantly associated with food groups of “vegetables”, “fish and shellfish”, and “cereal and grain products” among males and of “vegetables” among females.

AGREEMENT BETWEEN NUTRITIONAL SCREENING INSTRUMENTS IN HOSPITALIZED OLDER PATIENTS

ABSTRACT Background The prevalence of hospitalized elderly patients has grown substantially and has impacted the hospital health services. Thus, it is believed that an investigation of the nutritional status associated with different clinical situations in elderly patients could contribute to multidisciplinary hospital intervention and nutritional care actions suitable for this population. Objective To investigate the relationship between two nutritional screening instruments in hospitalized older patients and to compare clinical variables between these two instruments. Methods Retrospective study with hospitalized older patients (n=277), investigating the agreement between two nutritional screening instruments. The data were analyzed using the McNemar, chi-square, Fisher, Mann-Whitney tests and the kappa coefficient for the agreement assessment. Results There was a significant difference (P=0.0002) between the nutritional risk classifications of the two nutritional screening instruments and moderate agreement (k=0.5430) between them. The association between nutritional risk screening and age (P=0.0255), length of hospital stay (P<0.0001), gender (P=0.0365) and illness (P=0.0001) were assessed. There was an association between Mini Nutritional Assessment and length of stay (P<0.0001), illness (P=0.0001) and body weight evolution (P=0.0479). Conclusion The nutritional risk screening and Mini Nutritional Assessment showed moderate agreement in the assessment of elderly patients.

Taste Sensitivity of Elderly People Is Associated with Quality of Life and Inadequate Dietary Intake

Aging has been implicated in the alteration of taste acuity. Diet can affect taste sensitivity. We aimed to investigate the types of tastes altered in elderly Korean people and factors associated with taste alteration in relation to dietary intake and other factors. Elderly participants (≥65 years) and young adults were assessed to determine their recognition thresholds (RT) for sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami tastes. Elderly participants were further surveyed for dietary intake and non-nutritional factors. Five taste RTs were correlated with age, but only four taste RTs, except sweetness, differed between the elderly participants and young adults. Inadequate intake of iron, thiamin, folic acid, zinc, and phosphorus among the elderly participants was related to elevated taste RT levels, except for bitter taste. In both correlation and regression analyses, only salty and sour RTs were associated with energy, iron, thiamin, fiber, vitamin C, and riboflavin levels in the elderly participants. The elderly participants’ taste RTs exhibited strong associations with quality of life (QOL) but showed partial relationships with physical activity, number of medicine intakes, social gatherings, and education. Taste sensitivity may decrease with age, which is further influenced by insufficient dietary intake, especially iron and thiamin, and QOL.

A Theoretical Framework on the Determinants of Food Purchasing Behavior of the Elderly: A Bibliometric Review with Scientific Mapping in Web of Science

The past few years have seen significant demographic changes in most regions, including an increased elderly population. Subsequently, elderly citizens comprise an important market segment of consumers, with the food industry one of the most affected areas in this context. However, food market managers previously believed that elderly consumers’ needs were stereotyped in nature. The lack of focus on this sector, therefore, left elderly consumers as an untapped market, without realizing the financial independence of this segment regarding their nutrition. This research will attempt to provide the key determinant factors on elderly consumers’ behavior related to food. For that purpose, a complete literature review of more than 123 papers regarding these concepts has been carried out. Once analyzed, we highlight the common insights to give clear guidance for supermarket managers and food manufacturers to have a better knowledge of the reasons behind elderly people’s food acquisitions.