Comparison of Dietary Habits According to Depression and Stress in the Elderly

The maintaining good nutritional status in elderly is very important for healthy aging. The purpose of this study is to provide data on the health care and intake of nutrition by comparing dietary habits in elderly according to depression and stress status. This study obtained from database of the 6th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES, 2013-2015). This study used 1,920 elderly over 65 years. Statistical analyses were performed by using SPSS program. In the analysis, continuous variables were expressed as mean and standard error, and categorical variables were expressed as percentages (%). Then, we evaluated the survey using a general linear model (GLM), and Rao-Scott χ2 test. In dietary habits, the proportion of those who answered “Skipping a meal more than twice a week ” in the evening and the proportion of those who answered “Eat enough food but did not eat a variety of food” were higher in subjects with depression and stress (DS) than in subjects without depression and stress (NDS). In parameter of nutritional quality, the INQ values of protein, niacin, calcium, and phosphorus in the subjects with DS were significantly lower than in the subjects with NDS. DS groups showed poorer dietary habits and nutrition quality than the NDS groups.