Assessing the nutritional status of elderly in the selected municipalities of Chitwan district, Nepal

Nutritional status of elderly

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54530/jcmc.1533

Keywords:

Elderly; mini nutritional assessment; nutritional status; screening

Abstract

Background: Increasing the number of elderlies, the nutritional status is also an emerging issue and plays a crucial role in daily activities and non-communicable diseases. The main objective of this study was to assess the nutritional status of elderly in municipalities of Chitwan District.

Method: An analytical cross-sectional study design was used to assess the nutritional status of elderly. Probability Proportion to Size sampling method was used to select sample. A total of 442 elderly recruited from community and collected data by using Mini-Nutritional Assessment standard tool and self-constructed socio-demographic questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze data in SPSS 20 version.

Result: Among 442 elderly participants, 215 were male and rest (227) female and the mean age was 70.6±7.7 years. Almost half of participants were from Brahmin/Chettri ethnic group and the highest number (72%) followed Hinduism and were illiterate. Almost four-fifths (77.8%) of participants were living with their son/daughter-in-law and their main household income was agriculture. Three-fifths of participants were at risk of malnutrition on screening (65.4%) and nutritional assessment (59.3%). There was a significant association of nutritional status with age (p<0.001), cast/ethnicity (p<0.041), chronic diseases (p<0.001), family type (p<0.003), and education (p<0.034) of participants. The participants currently ill were twice more likely to be at risk of malnutrition or malnourished than not being ill (OR: 2.319, 95%CI: 1.534-3.505).

Conclusion: With the increasing age of respondents there was an increased risk of malnutrition. Brahmin/Chettri were the more at risk. Those who were suffering from chronic diseases, and were illiterate had a higher risk of malnutrition.

Keywords: Elderly, Mini Nutritional Assessment, Nutritional Status, Screening

Author Biographies

  • Jiwan Kumar Poudyal, Shree Medical and Technical College, Bharatpur, Chitwan

    Department of Public Health, Assistant professor

  • Sumitra Parajuli, Bharatpur Hospital

    Department of Nursing, Lecturer

  • Sahera Khatun, Shree Medical and Technical College, Chitwan

    Public Health Graduate

  • Dr. Govinda Prasad Dhungana, Birendra Multiple Campus, Chitwan

    Department of Statistics, Assistant Professor

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Published

2024-10-18

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Section

Original Articles

How to Cite

1.
Assessing the nutritional status of elderly in the selected municipalities of Chitwan district, Nepal: Nutritional status of elderly. JCMC [Internet]. 2024 Oct. 18 [cited 2025 Feb. 15];14(3):73-80. Available from: https://jcmc.com.np/jcmc/index.php/jcmc/article/view/1533

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