Factors Related to Nutritional Status of Elderly in a Korean Rural Commuity

BACKGROUND Nutrition is closely related to morbidity and mortality, and active intervention is known to be effective in their prevention. This study evaluates the factors related to nutritional status of elderly, to be used as a basic reference for effective prevention program. METHODS The cross-sectional study evaluates the nutritional status of community-living elderly, aged 60 and older, in a Korean rural community. The subject were selected from a two stage cluster sampling. Questionnaire contained demographics, the Mini-Nutritional Assessment(MNA), Mini-Mental Status Exam-Korean(MMSE-K), Geriatric Depression Scale(GDS), IADL, Social support network, and dietary patters. T-test and hierarchical regression models were constructed to explore the factors related to nutritional status. RESULTS Mean age was 72+/-7.1 with 101 male subjects and 200 female subject. The MNA score revealed 41.5% of subjects who were at risk of malnutrition. The mean MNA score showed significant differences in terms of following factors: gender, age, education, marital status, income, expenditures, MMSE-K, GDS, social support, instrumental support, regularity of meal, changes in taste, satisfaction in food, unbalanced dietary habit, number of family members sharing the meal, IADL, presence of disease, number of medications(p<0.05). Multiple regression analysis revealed that demographic characteristics explained 7.5% of nutritional status, social support network 6.7%, mental disease 25.3%, dietary pattern 23.8% , and physical disease 22.2% correspondingly. Whole model explained 45.1% of nutritional status. The significant variables were the number of medications, presence of stress, unbalanced dietary habit, regularity of meal, instrumental support, depression, cognition, and satisfaction in food(p