Relationship between malnutrition and geriatric assessment in adults over 80 years.

Abstract

Introduction: Malnutrition is a state of protein loss that can have serious consequences on health. It is also a prevalent disease in adults of very advanced age (80 years and older). CONUT, as a marker of malnutrition, has been studied in several populations; however, evidence among adults of
very advanced age is limited. Objective: To know the association between CONUT and variables of geriatric assessment in adults aged 80 years or
older.
Methods: We studied adults over 80 years of age who were treated on an outpatient basis at the Naval Medical Center (Callao, Peru). The dependent variable was malnourished (CONUT score ≥2). This score is constructed from the values of albumin, lymphocytes and cholesterol. The independent variables were Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Mini Nutritional Assessment, Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) and grip strength.
Results: The prevalence of malnutrition was 51.13%. The CONUT score increased one unit when the MMSE score, Barthel index, grip strength and SPPB score significantly decreased a mean of 0.06, 0.04, 0.06 and 0.13 units respectively. The same effect was observed when the age increased 0.14 years.
Conclusions: We found that half of older adults had malnutrition accordingly to CONUT. Associations were found between CONUT, MMSE score, Barthel index, grip strength, SPPB score and age. This study is expected to be useful for future nutritional implementations in clinical practice.