Comparative study of the nutritional status of a geriatric population of an urban housing complex and an old age home

Ms. B G Hazarika*, Ms. M Roy Chowdhury, Ms. S M Das

Department of Dietetics

Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals,Kolkata

Aim: To assess the nutritional status of a geriatric population in an urban community (kolkata).

Background: Elderly population contributed to 7% of total population of India in 2001and it will raise to 9% by 2016. In 2010,100 million people were aged above 60 years and by 2020 it will be 177 million. Ageing process is as such complex and multi-factorial. Chronic morbidities like diabetes and hypertension are becoming common health problems among the geriatric population.

Ageing is often accompanied by the occurrence of illness, which may increase the risk of nutritional deficiency. There is a need to compress the period of morbidity experienced by the elderly to minimize the occurrence of nutritional deficiency and improve well-being. Altered nutritional status is associated with the pathogenesis of a number of common diseases of the elderly. Thus it would appear that nutritional modulation represents one possible approach to successful ageing.

Method: Mini nutritional assessment (MNA) of Nestle Nutrition Institute was used to determine the screening score.

Results: Comparative scoring of the two facilities were surveyed. In the housing complex  about 55% female and 60% male were well nourished whereas in the old age home only about 5% of female and 7.28% of male were well nourished. 30% of female & 33% of male were at risk of malnourished in housing complex, whereas the percentage in the old age home was 33% & 92.8% respectively. Percentage of malnourished individuals in the housing complex was 15% for female & 7% for male. In the old age home mainly all the female population (62%) was malnourished.

Conclusion: Malnutrition prevailed among the members of the old age home. Psychological stress was common, which may be a factor of HTN. Sedentary lifestyle and over- eating may be a contributing factor towards the development of diabetes in the residence of the housing complex. In our study, the percentage of diabetes in housing complex and in old age home was 41% and 29% respectively, and that of hypertension it was 69% and 71%. It was observed that BMI above, 30 increased the prevalence of diabetes and hypertension. Counselling was done to improve the nutritional status of both the facilities. Continuous periodic contact sessions are carried out to bridge the nutritional gap and improve the quality of life of the geriatric population.