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Nutritional risk, functional status and mortality in newly institutionalised elderly
Emanuele Cereda1, Carlo Pedrolli, Annunciata Zagami
1Nutrition and Dietetics Service, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Viale Golgi 19, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
The British Journal of Nutrition
|April 13, 2013
Summary
Nutritional risk, assessed by the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI), independently predicts mortality and functional status in elderly long-term care residents. Nutritional status is more critical than functional status for predicting outcomes in this population.
Area of Science:
- Geriatric Medicine
- Nutritional Science
- Public Health
Background:
- Limited evidence exists on the relationship between nutritional status and functional domains in long-term care residents.
- Understanding these associations is crucial for improving health outcomes in institutionalized elderly.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the relationship between nutritional risk and functional status in newly institutionalized elderly.
- To assess the association of nutritional risk and functional status with mortality in this population.
Main Methods:
- A multi-centric prospective cohort study involving 346 long-term care residents.
- Nutritional risk was assessed using the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI).
- Functional status was determined by the Barthel Index (BI) upon admission.
Main Results:
- High and low nutritional risk were prevalent in 36.1% and 30.6% of residents, respectively.
- Functional status was independently associated with age, arm muscle area, comorbidities, and GNRI.
- Both high and low nutritional risk were associated with all-cause mortality (HR 1.86 and 1.52, respectively).
- High nutritional risk was also linked to increased cardiovascular mortality (HR 1.93).
- The Barthel Index showed no association with mortality.
Conclusions:
- Nutritional risk upon admission is an independent predictor of functional status and mortality in institutionalized elderly.
- The nutritional domain appears more relevant than functional status for predicting outcomes in newly institutionalized elderly individuals.
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