[Delayed hypersensitivity and its relationship with the nutritional status of older adult women]

To analyze the relationship between cellular immune response, assessed through delayed hypersensitivity intradermal tests, and nutritional status in older adult women.

A correlational observational study was conducted on elderly women, without evidence of infection, with an average age of 69.2 ± 5.9 years. Nutritional status was assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) scale, and the in vivo cell-mediated immune response was measured through delayed hypersensitivity tests to various microbial antigens.

A total of 36 older adult women were enrolled in the study. Of these, 83.3% had a normal nutritional status, while 16.7% were at risk of malnutrition, with an average MNA score of 25.6 ± 2.7. The intradermal reaction test at 48 hours, showed an induration greater than 5 mm in 58.3% for Gram-positive bacteria, 38.9% for tetanus/diphtheria, 66.7% for candidin, and 0% for Escherichia coli. A positive response to candidin was more frequent in women at risk of malnutrition (OR: 1.3: CI_95%: 1.1 - 1.7; p = 0.05). After 96 hours, a candidin induration greater than 7 mm showed an area under the ROC curve of 0.75 (CI_95%: 0.57 - 0.94; p = 0.05) for predicting the risk of malnutrition.

Older adult women with good nutritional status maintain an adequate cellular immune response, whereas those at risk of malnutrition exhibit greater reactivity to candidin, suggesting a possible immunological alteration associated with malnutrition.