Food insecurity and malnutrition in older adults from the Family Health Strategy in the Northeast of Brazil

Introduction: Food insecurity (FI) is a state characterized by instability and irregularity of access to food. This condition has negative impacts on dietary intake, affecting nutritional status and health condition. Objective: To evaluate the association between malnutrition and FI among communitydwelling older adults attended to under the Family Health Strategy (FHS). Materials and methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted using communitydwelling older adults attended to under the FHS in the municipality of Barreiras, in Bahia, Brazil. Between 2017 e 2018, we collected demographic, social, economic, health condition, lifestyle, anthropometric, and food consumption data. We evaluated nutritional status using the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and we assessed FI with the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale (EBIA). Besides the chi-squared test, we carried out a binary logistic regression to verify the association between malnutrition and FI, adjusted for possible confounding factors. The significance level was p<0.05. Results: We evaluated 307 older adults with a mean age of 70.4 (±7.5 years). The prevalence of malnutrition/risk of malnutrition was 35.2% and that of FI was 63.5%. Households with older adults in moderate/severe FI presented almost three times more chance (OR 2.97; CI95% 1.37-6.44) of having malnutrition compared with those in food security. Conclusions: The study indicates that there is an association between household FI and malnutrition/risk of malnutrition among older adults from the FHS, especially among those in severe FI. This result attributes to FI the status of determinant of malnutrition in older adults within the context investigated.

Concordância entre o Índice de Massa Corporal e a Mini Avaliação Nutricional em idosos

Avaliar a concordância entre o Índice de Massa Corporal (IMC) e a Mini Avaliação Nutricional (MAN) para avaliação do estado nutricional de idosos. Estudo transversal, analítico descritivo, com idosos da Estratégia de Saúde da Família. Avaliou-se o estado nutricional pelo IMC e pela MAN, e foi descrito o perfil sociodemográfico, de comorbidades e estilo de vida. A correlação entre os indicadores foi calculada pelo teste de Spearman e a concordância avaliada através do estimador de Bland-Altman. Segundo o IMC, 29% dos idosos apresentaram baixo peso, enquanto a MAN demonstrou que 35% estavam desnutridos ou risco de desnutrição. A MAN apresentou diferença de média de -0,29 para o IMC e correlação positiva (rho = 0,35; p = 0,01). Houve concordância entre os métodos utilizados para avaliação do estado nutricional de idosos, sendo observada elevada prevalência de baixo peso, assim como de desnutrição e risco de desnutrição.

Nutritional status of institutionalized elderly Brazilians: a study with the Mini Nutritional Assessment

OBJECTIVE

To assess the nutritional status of elderly living in nursing homes in the city of Salvador, Brazil and associated factors.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study performed with 359 individuals of both sexes, ages equal or over 60 years old, located in Nursing Homes in the urban area of the city of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

RESULTS

Regarding nutritional status according to Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), 66.3% of the evaluated elderly were malnourished and at risk of malnutrition. When comparing sexes, it has been observed that among men the prevalence of this condition (76.6%) was higher than in women (62.4%). It has been observed, as a result of the multivariate analysis, that only the variable functional capacity for Activities of Daily Living (ADL) was statistically significant. There was moderate correlation between MNA and Mini-Mental State Examination (r=0.454; p<0.0001), as well as between MNA and the ADL scale (r=0.569; p<0.0001). There was weak negative correlation between MNA total score and age (r=0.159; p=0.002).

CONCLUSION

Malnutrition and malnutrition risk were conditions of remarkable importance, with almost two-thirds of the elderly in this situation. ADL functional capacity must be monitored given their close relationship with the nutritional status of the elderly. An interdisciplinary approach in the context of institutionalization is needed due to the association between nutritional status and variables of different dimensions.