Elderly Health Journal 2017; 3(2): 80-86. Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran Journal Website : http://ehj.ssu.ac.ir Original Article * Corresponding Author: Nutrition Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. Tel: +984132331777, Email address: poorali77@gmail.com Nutritional Status of the Community-dwelling Elderly in Tabriz, Iran Akbar Azizi Zeinalhajlou 1, 2 , Hossein Matlabi 3 , Mohammad Hasan Sahebihagh 1 , Sarvin Sanaie 4 , Manouchehr Seyedi Vafaee 5, 6 , Fathollah Pourali 7* 1. Health Services Management Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran 2. Aging Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran 3. Department of Health Education and Promotion, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran 4. Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran 5. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark 6. Neurosciences Research Center, Faculty of medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran 7. Nutrition Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran A B S T R A C T Article history Received 21 Jul 2017 Accepted 28 Sep 2017 Introduction: Nutrition is an important determinant of health in the elderly. Older people are more susceptible to malnutrition that leaves adverse effects on their health. This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional status of the community-dwelling elderly in Tabriz City. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among non- institutionalized older people in Tabriz, Iran. A total of 1041 older adults (506 men and 535 women) were randomly selected based on Probability Proportional to Size sampling method. Data collection and evaluation of nutritional status using Mini Nutritional Assessment Short- Form, were conducted in the participants’ households. Results: Of all participants, 2.5% (CI 95%; 1.7-3.6) suffered from malnutrition, 26.7% (CI 95%; 24.1%-29.5%) were at risk of malnutrition, and 70.8% (CI 95%; 68.0%-73.5%) had normal nutritional status. Malnutrition and risk of malnutrition were more prevalent in elderly women than men (malnutrition: 2.6% vs. 2.4%, risk of malnutrition: 30.3% vs. 22.9%, p = 0.024) and in single than married elderly (3.9% vs. 2.0%, p < 0.001). Moreover, it had an upward trend with increasing age and decreasing educational level. Conclusion: Although most of the elderly people were nutritionally in normal status, a significant proportion were at risk of malnutrition that strengthens the need for designing and implementing appropriate interventions to improve lifestyle and prevent malnutrition in the elderly people. Keywords: Elderly, Nutritional Status, MNA-SF, Community-dwelling, Iran Citation: Azizi Zeinalhajlou A, Matlabi H, Sahebihagh M.H, Sanaie S, Seyedi Vafaee M, Pourali F. Nutritional status of the community-dwelling elderly in Tabriz, Iran. Elderly Health Journal. 2017; 3(2): 80-86. Introduction Being a global challenge, the elderly population in Iran is also increasing. In recent years, elderly population in Iran has grown rapidly and demographic trends suggest that Iran will experience a more rapid growth of older adults in the coming decades (1). The older people are considered as a vulnerable group to malnutrition (2-4), a condition that arises when the body does not get required amounts of nutrients needed to preserve tissues and organs functions (5, 6). Various studies have shown that malnutrition has a strong correlation with high mortality in older people (7). Those elderly who suffer from malnutrition have longer disease periods and hospital stay, high incidence of complications, infections and iatrogenic diseases, low quality of life, and poor healing of wounds; resulting in high mortality rates (8, 9). Downloaded from ehj.ssu.ac.ir at 6:22 +0330 on Thursday November 25th 2021