Validity of simplified nutritional appetite questionnaire for Turkish community-dwelling elderly and determining cut-off according to mini nutritional assessment

• Published in: Archives of gerontology and geriatrics Vol. 83; pp. 31 - 36
• Main Authors: Akın, Sibel, Ozer, Firuzan Fırat, Ertürk Zararsız, Gözde, Şafak, Elif Deniz, Mucuk, Salime, Göçer, Şemsinur, Mazıcıoğlu, Mümtaz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.07.2019
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cross-Sectional Studies; Elderly; Female; Geriatric Assessment; Health Services for the Aged; Humans; Independent Living; Male; Malnutrition - prevention & control; Mini nutritional assessment; Nutrition Assessment; Nutritional Status; Reproducibility of Results; ROC Curve; Sensitivity and Specificity; SNAQ; Surveys and Questionnaires; Turkey; Turkey; Nutrition assessment; Mini nutritional assessment; SNAQ; Elderly
• ISSN: 0167-4943; 1872-6976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2019.03.008

•The SNAQ was reliable and valid as an appetite screening tool in community-dwelling Turkish elderly.•The cut-off value of the SNAQ, according to both the MNA long and short forms, was 14 (sensitivity; 50%, 50% and specificity; 84%, 82%, respectively).•SNAQ score of ≤14 was significantly related with depression, IADL dependency and frailty. The aim of this study was to determine a cut-off value for the SNAQ according to both the MNA long and MNA short forms and to assess whether the SNAQ can predict malnutrition or risk of malnutrition in the elderly. Nutritional status was assessed both by the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) long and short forms. All demographic characteristics, mental status, depressive mood, functional status, and frailty were determined. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to calculate the cut-off of the SNAQ according to both the MNA long and short forms for malnutrition or risk of malnutrition. Reliability and validation of the SNAQ was analysed. We included 905 community-dwelling elderly, but those with middle-stage dementia (MMSE score <18, n = 30) were excluded. The mean age ± standard deviation (SD) was 71.4 ± 5.5 years (49.3% female and 50.7% male). The prevalence of well-nourished, risk of malnutrition or malnutrition were 55.2%, 44.8%, respectively according to the MNA-long form. The prevalence of elderly at risk of future weight loss (SNAQ score of ≤14) was 31.0% (n = 268; 66.0% female, 34.0% male). The area under the curve (AUC) for SNAQ was 0.725 (95% CI 0.690–0.760). The cut-off value of the SNAQ, according to both the MNA long and short forms, was 14 (sensitivity; 50%, 50% and specificity; 84%, 82%, respectively). The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient of SNAQ for internal consistency was 0.639. The SNAQ was reliable and valid as an appetite screening tool in community-dwelling Turkish elderly.