Dietary practices and nutritional status of older persons: a cross-sectional study of Northern Uganda

Malnutrition remains a problem in older populations globally. Most older persons do not meet the required dietary intake with the majority consuming mainly carbohydrate-based foods and vegetables. The current study therefore aimed at assessing the dietary practices, nutritional status and associated factors among older persons in Gulu district.

This was a cross-sectional study among older persons aged 60 years and above in Gulu District. The study used a multi-stage sampling procedure. Nutritional status was measured using the Mini Nutrition Assessment - Short Form (MNA-SF). Analysis was done in STATA 16 using modified Poisson regression considering a 5% level of significance.

The study enrolled 141 participants with a median age (IQR) of 71(64,79) years. Majority of the respondents, 96(68.1%) were female and 72(51.1%) reported to be widows or widowers. The prevalence of malnutrition was 53.9%. Millet was eaten by 62(45.9%) participants 1-4 times a week while maize and its products were eaten by 56(40.6%) 1-2 times monthly. We found that increasing age (aPR=1.02, p-value=0.021), having primary education (aPR=1.51, p-value=0.046), and staying <5km away from the health facility (aPR=1.60, p-value=0.003) were significantly associated with having malnutrition.

Majority of the participants were malnourished. Age, education, and distance from healthcare facility were the factors that influenced nutritional status. The prevalence of malnutrition prompts for a need for nutritional and food relief aid in this population.