Page 63 - Petelin, Ana, Nejc Šarabon, eds. 2018. Zdravje starostnikov ▪︎ Health of the Elderly. Zbornik povzetkov z recenzijo ▪︎ Book of Abstracts. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem/University of Primorska Press
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ritional status of older adults admitted to the Surgical Ward problemi in izzivi v prehrani starostnikov | nutrition problems and challenges in the elderly
Nika Slokar, Nina Mohorko
University of Primorska, Faculty of Health Sciences, Polje 42, 6310 Izola, Slovenia
Introduction: A substantial number of older adults are malnourished at the time
of hospital admission, which negatively influences their recovery time, quality
of life, possible complications, length of hospital stay and costs of treatment.
Methods: The study was conducted at the Surgical Ward of the Izola Gener-
al Hospital between January and May 2016. All patients aged 65 years or old-
er were invited to the study within 48 hours after being admitted to the ward.
Nutritional examinations were carried out with anthropometric, bioimped-
ance and functional measures and with NRS-2002, based on which patients’
nutritional status was defined, patients were nutritionally assessed and classi-
fied into two groups; one with increased nutritional risk, the other without it.
Results: Out of 67 acute patients (64 % male), 77.0 ± 7.9 years, BMI 28.4 ± 4.4
kg/m2 (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2: 54 (81 %)) in the study, 39 (58 %) had increased nutri-
tional risk, 11 (28 %) had normal body masses, 16 (41 %) were overweight and
12 (31 %) obese. The group with increased nutritional risk had lower fat free
mass index, phase angle and hand grip strength.
Discussion and conclusions: Despite the fact that 81 % of patients’ BMI ≥ 25
kg/m2, 58 % of them were grouped as patients with increased nutritional risk.
If the nutritional status of patients were determined using only the BMI cut-
points for malnutrition (< 20 or ≤ 22 kg/m2) only 8 % of patients would be clas-
sified as malnourished.
Keywords: older adults, nutritional screening, nutritional assessment,
nutritional status, malnutrition
61
Nika Slokar, Nina Mohorko
University of Primorska, Faculty of Health Sciences, Polje 42, 6310 Izola, Slovenia
Introduction: A substantial number of older adults are malnourished at the time
of hospital admission, which negatively influences their recovery time, quality
of life, possible complications, length of hospital stay and costs of treatment.
Methods: The study was conducted at the Surgical Ward of the Izola Gener-
al Hospital between January and May 2016. All patients aged 65 years or old-
er were invited to the study within 48 hours after being admitted to the ward.
Nutritional examinations were carried out with anthropometric, bioimped-
ance and functional measures and with NRS-2002, based on which patients’
nutritional status was defined, patients were nutritionally assessed and classi-
fied into two groups; one with increased nutritional risk, the other without it.
Results: Out of 67 acute patients (64 % male), 77.0 ± 7.9 years, BMI 28.4 ± 4.4
kg/m2 (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2: 54 (81 %)) in the study, 39 (58 %) had increased nutri-
tional risk, 11 (28 %) had normal body masses, 16 (41 %) were overweight and
12 (31 %) obese. The group with increased nutritional risk had lower fat free
mass index, phase angle and hand grip strength.
Discussion and conclusions: Despite the fact that 81 % of patients’ BMI ≥ 25
kg/m2, 58 % of them were grouped as patients with increased nutritional risk.
If the nutritional status of patients were determined using only the BMI cut-
points for malnutrition (< 20 or ≤ 22 kg/m2) only 8 % of patients would be clas-
sified as malnourished.
Keywords: older adults, nutritional screening, nutritional assessment,
nutritional status, malnutrition
61
