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Updated: Jul 25, 2026

Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Relationship between MNA and SF-36 in a free-living elderly population aged 70 to 75
B G Eriksson1, D K Dey, R M Hessler
1Department of Sociology, Göteborg University, Box 720, SE 405 30 GOTEBORG, Sweden. Bo_G.Eriksson@sociology.gu.se
Background:
Within a larger study of social network and nutrition, we investigated measurements of nutritional status and health related quality of life.
Objective:
To relate a well-established questionnaire of nutritional status (MNA) to a likewise well-established questionnaire of health related quality of life (SF-36) in community dwelling, free-living and, healthy 70-75 years old persons.
Design:
Before an interview, the MNA and SF-36 questionnaires were filled in by 128 participants from a sample of 262 subjects.
Results:
The MNA worked well as a measurement in this sample. Many MNA aspects correlated with the SF-36 scales. The correlations between MNA total score and the eight SF-36 scales varied from .27 to .62.
Discussion:
This correlation was partly due to the fact that MNA has questions of health but also to the fact that there is an empirical relation between nutrition and health.
Conclusion:
The MNA measurement is applicable to a healthy, free-living elderly population and parts of the MNA can be interpreted as measurements of health related quality of life. Low values of SF-36 could also be used as predictors of risk of malnutrition, although further studies are required to confirm this result.
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