Undernutrition, socio-demographic characteristics and eating habits of the elderly

• Published in: Clinical nutrition ESPEN Vol. 63; pp. 821 - 828
• Main Authors: Millimono, Thierno Mamadou, Camara, Alioune, Mabiama, Gustave, Toure, Fanta, Sidibé, Sidikiba, Preux, Pierre-Marie, Desport, Jean-Claude, Fayemendy, Philippe, Jésus, Pierre
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2024; ESPEN/Elsevier
• Subjects: breads; breakfast; clinical nutrition; cross-sectional studies; dinner; Eating habits; elderly; fish consumption; food consumption; Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Internal Medicine; Life Sciences; lunch; males; malnutrition; multivariate analysis; nutrition education; Older adult; people; questionnaires; Santé publique et épidémiologie; sex ratio; t-test; Undernutrition; Older adult; Undernutrition; Eating habits; older adult; eating habits
• ISSN: 2405-4577; 2405-4577
• DOI: 10.1016/j.clnesp.2024.07.1057

Ageing is often accompanied by a decrease of food consumption, possibly leading to undernutrition. A single nutritional study was conducted in 2011 in the general population, showing that 5.5% of people aged >65 years were undernourished. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of undernutrition in the elderly and its relationship with sociodemographic characteristics and dietary habits. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a representative sample of subjects aged ≥60 years in urban and rural areas of the country's eight administrative regions. A questionnaire including socio-demographic data, food consumption frequencies and anthropometric measurements was used. Student's t-test and Man Whitney test were used with a significance level of 5%. A multivariate analysis was performed between undernutrition and the other factors collected. 1698 older adults were included (male: 63.5%, sex ratio M/F = 1.7), with a mean age of 71.6 ± 9.4 years and a BMI of 22.6 ± 4.4 kg/m2. The prevalence of undernutrition was 14.4%. Undernutrition was significantly associated with age 80–89 years and ≥90 years, (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.0001 respectively), male sex (p = 0.006), rural areas (p = 0.002), being in activity (p = 0.009) and fish consumption (p = 0.039). Breakfast was consumed every day in 87.2% of cases, lunch in 74.3% and dinner in 83.2%. Rice and bread were the most consumed food. Early detection of nutritional disorders, nutritional education and promotion of a balanced diet could help improve the health of the elderly.