The nutritional status of adult female patients with disabilities in Kuwait

Adults with disabilities are at a higher risk of malnutrition than are their non-disabled counterparts owing to feeding problems and associated medical conditions. We evaluated the prevalence of malnutrition in a group of institutionalized women and investigated any feeding difficulties and nutrition-related medical problems.

This study used two versions of the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF) to screen malnutrition: the MNA-SF1 which uses the body mass index, and the MNA-SF2 which uses the calf circumference. Data were collected from 53 women with intellectual and physical disabilities in a cross-sectional survey of residents of the Kuwait Rehabilitation Centre.

Of all participants, 63.5% were found to be overweight or obese, while 11.5% were underweight. Using the MNA-SF1, 57.7% were found to be at risk of malnourishment while 11.5% were malnourished. More patients were identified to be at risk of malnutrition or to be actually malnourished using the MNA-SF2 (59.6% and 23.1%, respectively). Reported feeding problems included difficulties in maintaining a sitting position, manipulating food on a plate, conveying food to the mouth, and in swallowing. The presence of infections worsened the prognoses of malnourished women regardless of their weight status.

Our findings suggest that MNA-SF2 is a more sensitive tool for identifying malnourishment than MNA-SF1. Obesity can obscure the identification of malnourished patients if clinicians rely solely on the MNA-SF1, which uses the body mass index.