Nutritional assessment of the elderly in a Brazilian community

The number of elderly people has increased worldwide in the last years and a key determinant for life quality that has an important repercussion for the elderly is a good nutrition status. This study aimed to analyze the influence of sociodemographic factors, risk behaviors, oral health conditions, and cognitive deficit on nutritional status in a cohort of 508 non-institutionalized elderly people from a community in Brazil. Data from the Mini Nutritional Assessment, sociodemographic factors, risk behaviors, oral health conditions and cognitive evaluation using Mini-mental State Examination were used. Multiple regression analysis was applied. Older participants, illiterate elders and those presenting cognitive deficit were more likely to be at risk of malnutrition as well as advanced age elders and males when compared to younger and female participants. Significant differences were noted in the distribution of malnutrition among elders that used denture and those who had cognitive deficit. These findings provide an improved understanding of the nutritional profile of the elderly population and highlight the need for an adequate nutrition and social programs for the elderly.