Prevalence and Predictors of malnutrition among elderly in an urban area in Visakhapatnam (India)

Introduction Malnutrition in the elderly is a significant public health problem and often underreported. It has serious implications on the overall health and quality of life of elderly population. Objective To assess the prevalence of malnutrition and its associated factors among elderly. Methodology: A community based cross sectional study was done for a period of two months during September 2022 to October 2022 in urban field practice area of a medical college. Total 186 elderly (?60 years) were included in the study by simple random sampling method. An interview schedule was used to record the socio-demographic and relevant details of the study participants. Nutritional status assessment was done by using 18 items (30 points) Mini nutritional assessment (MNA) scale. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25. Chi- square test and Fisher'sexact test was applied based on the nature of the distribution of data. P<0.05 taken as statistically significant. Results Majority of the participants (84.95%) were in the age group of 60-70 years. About 61.83%were females and 38.17 % were males. The prevalence of malnutrition was 18.28 %. Those who are at risk of malnutrition were 51.61 %. There was no significant association between socio-demographic profile and malnutrition among elderly. Conclusion The present study showed that the majority of the elderly were at risk of malnutrition. There is a need for early diagnosis and management of malnutrition among elderly which will improve their quality of life.