Riesgo de malnutrición en una población mayor de 75 años no institucionalizada con autonomía funcional

Objectives: to assess the nutritional status of autonomous non-institutionalized elderly, and determine the relationship between malnutrition risk and social factors, diseases and quality of life of the population. Methods: cross-sectional study in 57 adults over 75 autonomous, non-institutionalized residents in Garrucha, Almeria. The nutritional risk assessment was performed with the MNA questionnaire. The social risk was assessed by socio-familiar scale of Gijon, and the life expectancy was assessed by CCI questionnaire. Results: 73.7% of the population had a good nutritional status; 22.8% was at risk of malnutrition and 3.5% had malnutrition. Some subjects were at social risk and 17.5% had a probability of mortality rate of over 52% in the following three years. Most of the population was within 5 diseases. The risk of malnutrition was positively related to social risk and the number of chronic diseases. Conclusions: the elderly presented an acceptable nutritional status. However, 22.8% of the group was at risk of malnutrition, especially those over 90 years and women. The risk of malnutrition appears to be associated with a more disadvantaged social situation and with more diseases. The development of training programs in nutrition education and the use of simple tools to detect nutritional risk in primary health care could be effective tools to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition, avoid negative consequences on the health and improve the quality of life of older adults.