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Malnutrition, frailty and quality of life in older adults – a cross cultural study
- Eirini Kelaiditi, Maria Teresa Vidal Vidal, Kyriaki Myrissa
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- Journal:
- Proceedings of the Nutrition Society / Volume 79 / Issue OCE2 / 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 10 June 2020, E459
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- Article
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Introduction
Life expectancy has considerably improved over the past century. Despite the population living longer, this greater number of life years has been associated with increases in chronic morbidity and mortality, including age-related debilitating conditions, such as frailty and malnutrition with profound implications both socially and economically on society. Given the increasing rates of population ageing, it is critical to ensure that functional ability, wellbeing and quality of life (QoL) are maintained and the factors involved in these processes are understood. This project aimed to compare the prevalence of frailty and malnutrition in community-dwelling older adults living in the UK and Spain; and identify potential determinants of malnutrition, frailty and QoL.
Materials and methodsA cross sectional study among 64 male and female community-dwelling older adults 65–92 years from the UK (n = 33) and Spain (n = 31) was conducted. Nutritional status, frailty and QoL were assessed by previously validated self-reported questionnaires: the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF), the FiND (Frail Non-Disabled questionnaire) and the SHARE (Study of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe) version of the CASP-12. Multiple and/or logistic regression models were applied to assess factors that predict malnutrition, QoL and risk of frailty.
ResultsIn total, mean age of participants was 77 ± 8 years and mean Body Mass Index (BMI) was 26.06 ± 4.78 kg/m2. Mean MNA-SF score was 12.70 ± 1.92, and mean QoL was 40.36 ± 5.35. The overall prevalence of malnutrition and frailty was 18.8% and 23.4% respectively. Participants in the UK were more likely to be malnourished than those in Spain (24.2% vs 12.9%), although not significantly (p = 0.245), and the prevalence of frailty was higher in the UK (36.4% vs 9.7%) (p = 0.012). BMI, being frail and income were significant predictors of malnutrition (p < 0.05). Higher QoL was a significant protective factor for frailty risk (Odds Ratio 0.728; 95%CI 0.59–0.90; p = 0.004). Age, income and being frail were significant predictors of QoL (p < 0.05).
DiscussionTo our knowledge this is the first cross-cultural study that explored associations between malnutrition, frailty and QoL, using validated questionnaires in both languages. Despite the small sample size, it was revealed that malnutrition and frailty are conditions that can be identified in community dwelling older adults. Although participants self-reported a good QoL, frailty was found to be a strong predictor of QoL. Implementing culturally suited strategies to detect malnutrition and frailty status and prevent further decline would be useful to improve the QoL of older adults in these countries.
Dietary and lifestyle patterns in UK postpartum women
- Kyriaki Myrissa, Rebecca Stevens, Eirini Kelaiditi
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- Journal:
- Proceedings of the Nutrition Society / Volume 79 / Issue OCE2 / 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 10 June 2020, E442
-
- Article
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- You have access Access
- Export citation
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Introduction
Healthy dietary and physical activity behaviours during and after pregnancy are important for optimal maternal health. Unhealthy lifestyle habits promote excessive weight gain during pregnancy or weight retention in the postpartum period, which increase the risk of obesity. The aim of this study was to explore dietary habits and associated lifestyle patterns and barriers to healthy eating in UK postpartum women.
MethodsCross-sectional study of 228 females (56.1% were 25–34 years old) with a mean postpartum period of 5.73 ± 3.31 months. Participants completed an online survey exploring eating habits, weight status, sleep duration, breastfeeding, nutrition knowledge, physical activity, provision of advice and barriers to healthy eating during the postpartum period. A sub-sample of 34 women (50% of the sample were between 35–44 years old) completed an optional online dietary intake assessment using a multiple-pass 24-hour recall.
ResultsIn total, 73.7% were not meeting the five a day fruit and vegetable UK recommendations, 40.4% of women were skipping breakfast and 44.7% were skipping lunch every day. Average weight gain from pre-pregnancy to postpartum was 5.56 ± 4.61 kg (range = 0.8 to 25 kg) with only 2.2% of women meeting current UK physical activity guidelines during the postpartum period. Consumption of high calorie snacks and meal skipping were significantly higher during the postpartum period compared to pre-pregnancy (p < 0.01). Women who were breastfeeding had significantly lower body mass index than those who were bottle feeding (p < 0.05). Fatigue, lack of time and feeling stressed had the most impact on women's ability to eat healthily. Barriers to consume a balanced healthy diet were significantly greater for women with low combined household income and those having three or more children (p < 0.05). Poor nutrition knowledge was significantly associated with increased meal skipping (p < 0.05). The sub-sample dietary analysis (N = 34) showed that women were not meeting the UK Dietary Reference Values for energy, fibre, iron, and vitamin D intakes. Those breastfeeding were not meeting requirements for calcium and zinc.
DiscussionTo our knowledge, this is the first study to explore dietary habits and lifestyle patterns in UK postpartum women. Health care professionals should support women to adopt lifestyle behaviours following childbirth, with a greater focus on those likely to be experiencing more barriers. Advice given to women during the postpartum period needs to be tailored to potential differences in sociodemographic characteristics, pre-pregnancy health status and baseline nutrition knowledge and target multiple dietary and lifestyle behaviours.