[Nutritional status assessment in nursing home elderly residents]

It is important to correctly assess the nutritional status in elderly nursing home residents because of a direct link between weight loss, general illness and death among this population.

In 248 nursing home residents (74 men, 174 women; mean age 84.4+/-0.8 years), anthropometric measurements (height, weight, body mass index), serum markers (hemoglobin, total protein, albumin, cholesterol), body composition parameters (fat mass, fat-free mass, total body water) and nitrogen balance (37 patients) were assessed.

Most of the patients (48%) were of normal weight, underweight was found in 20% and overweight in 32% of all subjects. Every body weight deviation, under- or overweight, was mainly due to loss or rise of body fat mass and less often due to fat-free mass changes. Unlike stable chronic diseases in older residents, living in nursing home, acute infections and recurrent hospitalizations result in the expansion of the underweight population group (38% versus 11.2%). No correlation was found between serum albumin levels and weight loss or changes in body composition. Nitrogen balance study was found in only 6 cases of catabolic state from 37 patients: half of them suffered from acute infections and at half-daily protein intake that was reduced to 1.0 gr/kg/BM. No correlation was found between laboratory and nitrogen balance tests.

Deviations of proper weight were found in every second resident at the nursing home, and most of them were overweight. Evaluation of body composition and nitrogen balance enables to differentiate among the residents, identifying those who are likely to be underweight and on the whole improving their health condition.