A Community-based Cross Sectional Study on Nutritional status among Elderly in Rural Telangana

Introduction: The world is experiencing increase in geriatric population due to increase in life expectancies at global level. The complex issues leading to nutritional risk and malnutrition are inadequate food intake, social, economic, psychological and pathological factors. Objective: To assess the nutrition status of the elderly and to determine the factors associated with it. Method: A Cross-sectional study was done in the rural areas of Warangal, Telangana among 280 elderly people (≥ 60 years)using systematic random sampling. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire and the Mini Nutrition Assessment tool were used for data collection. Anthropometric measurements were also estimated. Data entry was done in MS Excel and analysed using SPSS 20.0. Chi-square and Correlation tests were applied. Results: Among the 280 elderly, malnutrition was seen in 13.2% of subjects, 51.4% were at risk of malnutrition and 35.4% were adequately nourished. Females, unemployment, smoking habits, presence of comorbidities, inadequate vegetable intake and lack of social support were significantly associated with malnutrition. A strong positive correlation (r= 0.4) was observed between nutrition score and weight, waist circumference, and calf circumference. The difference was statistically significant. Conclusion: Most of the elderly (51.4%) were at risk of malnutrition thus emphasizing the need for effective nutritional interventions.