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Frequency and factors associated with malnutrition in older people: a community-based study in western Nepal

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Abstract

Background

We assessed the nutritional status and its correlates among older people residing in the western part of Nepal.

Methods

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in selected rural municipalities (RM) of Dang district among 262 older residents by using a systematic random sampling technique. Nutritional status was assessed through the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF) tool. Data on characteristics, nutritional status, and measurement were done by the researchers themselves.

Results

Out of 262 respondents, 29.9% were malnourished and 40.4% were at risk of malnutrition. Age, educational status, marital status, monthly income, daily consumption of dairy products, consumption of beans and eggs, and consumption of meat, fish, or poultry products were significantly associated (p value < 0.05) with malnutrition. Similarly, consumption of beans and eggs was found to be significantly associated (p value < 0.05) with the risk of malnutrition among older people.

Conclusion

Proper and adequate nutritious foods, especially those rich in protein, green vegetables, fruits, and eggs, are important for improving the nutritional status of older people in addition to other socio-demographic, socio-economic, and lifestyle improvements.

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Data availability

Data will not be shared publicly. The datasets and materials used and/or analyzed during the current study can be made available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

AMTS:

abbreviated mental test score

AOR:

adjusted odds ratio

BMC:

BioMed Central

BMI:

body mass index

CI:

confidence interval

CMC:

Chitwan Medical College

DPHO:

District Public Health Office

FCHV:

Female Community Health Volunteer

HIV/AIDS:

human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome

HP:

health post

HRQOL:

health-related quality of life

IRC:

Institutional Review Board

IOM:

Institute of Medicine

MNA:

Mini Nutritional Assessment

MNA-SF:

Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form

MSNP:

Multi-sector Nutrition Plan

NDHS:

Nepal Demographic Health Survey

OAA:

old age allowance

OR:

odds ratio

PEM:

protein energy malnutrition

RM:

rural municipality

SD:

standard deviation

SLTHP:

Second Long-Term Health Plan

SPSS:

Statistical Package for Social Science

STI:

sexually transmitted infection

UOR:

unadjusted odds ratio

US:

United States

VDC:

Village Development Committee

VIF:

variance inflation factor

WHO:

World Health Organization

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Acknowledgments

We would like to express our sincere gratitude towards Dr. Hom Nath Chalise, Demographer and Social Gerontologist and Vice President of the Population Association of Nepal, for his regular support throughout the study. Likewise, the authors would like to express gratitude towards Mr. Janet Skates, Nestle Health Science Consultant, for his support and guidance and providing the MNA tool. Lastly, we would like to acknowledge Ms. Saruna Ghimire for providing the Nepali version of the MNA tool that she had used while conducting similar research in Nuwakot, Nepal.

Code availability

The software application or custom codes used in the research are available from the corresponding author (MD), upon reasonable request.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Rohit Acharya and Kushalata Baral contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Population Services International, Western Regional Hub, Nepalgunj, Nepal

    Rohit Acharya

  2. School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China

    Maginsh Dahal

  3. Department of Community Medicine and Public Health, Chitwan Medical College, Bharatpur, Chitwan, Nepal

    Kishor Adhikari & Mamta Chhetri

  4. Department of Public Health, Nobel College, Pokhara University, Sinamangal, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Kushalata Baral

  5. Sanjivani Institute of Health Sciences Pvt. Ltd., Ghorahi, Dang, Nepal

    Prayash Gautam

  6. UNICEF, Guwahati, Assam, India

    Praveenkumar Aivalli

Authors
  1. Rohit Acharya
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  2. Maginsh Dahal
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  5. Kushalata Baral
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Contributions

Principal investigator: RA. Development of the paper: RA, KB, and PG. Contribution to the development of the manuscript and critical revision: KA, MC, and MD. Writing of the manuscript: RA, PA, and MD. All authors revised the draft critically and have approved the final text.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maginsh Dahal.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical approval

Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee (IRC) of Chitwan Medical College. Permission was taken from the District Public Health Office (DPHO) of Rapti Rural Municipality.

Consent to participate

The informed consent and objectives were verbally shared with each respondent, and written consent was taken. Participation in this study was fully voluntary. Confidentiality of the information was ensured and maintained by the coding system.

Consent for publication

The authors declare that any person named as co-author of the contribution is aware of the fact and has agreed to being so named.

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Acharya, R., Dahal, M., Adhikari, K. et al. Frequency and factors associated with malnutrition in older people: a community-based study in western Nepal. Nutrire 45, 12 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41110-020-00115-3

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