Determining the prevalence of nutrition risk in older adults in Windsor-Essex County, ON: A cross-sectional survey-based study

Background: Nutrition risk, which is the presence of risk factors and social determinants that may lead to malnutrition, increases healthcare usage, morbidity and mortality in older adults. Nutrition risk is common in Canadian older adults, with the most recent nationwide study reporting a prevalence of 35.6%. Though primary care is a key setting for its early identification and management, nutrition assessments are often overlooked by primary care physicians. Objectives: To understand the relevance of screening for nutrition risk in our community, we aimed to establish the prevalence of nutrition risk among older adults in Windsor-Essex County primary care practices. Methods: The validated SCREEN-8© nutrition risk screening tool was administered to community-dwelling older adults (≥65 years) registered with five primary care physicians across Windsor-Essex County. This tool produces a continuous score with a maximum of 48 points to dichotomize individuals into high or low nutrition risk groups. Subgroup analyses were conducted using participants’ demographic information. Results: A total of 301 participants, with a mean age of 74.5 years (SD=6.6), completed the survey. Sixty-two percent of participants scored at high nutrition risk, with a mean SCREEN-8© score of 34.6 (SD = 7.3). The mean score of those living in a home alone (M=31.3, SD = 8.06) was significantly lower than of those living with others (M=39.5, SD = 6.99), t(277) = -3.76, p < 0.001. Implications: The high prevalence of older adult nutrition risk within our local primary care practices highlights the importance of nutrition risk screening and management within this setting.