Relationship between nutritional status and functional capacity in the elderly of Amirkola City

Nutrition is significantly related to the quality of life in the elderly. Functional capacity, which deals with the ability of the elderly to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), is considered an important health indicator. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the nutritional status and functional capacity in the elderly population of Amirkola City.

This cross-sectional study was part of the second phase of the Amirkola Elderly Health Cohort (AHAP), which was conducted on 800 randomly selected over 60 years of age. Nutritional status was assessed using the Semi-Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (SQFFQ), and functional capacity was evaluated using the Katz Index and Lawton Scale, including ADLs and IADLs. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software, and a P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

There were 437 (54.6%) males and 363 (45.4%) females among 800 elderly respondents. The mean nutritional and energy intake was greater in the able group than in the disabled group. According to multiple logistic regression analysis, the most significant factors affecting ADLs were age (OR = 4.93, 95% CI: 1.15-21.10, P = 0.028) and the number of chronic diseases (OR = 3.21, 95% CI: 1.10-9.36, P = 0.03). There was a significant relationship between IADLs and the number of chronic diseases (OR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.07-1.29, P = 0.01), age (OR = 4.73, 95% CI: 1.20-18.61, P < 0.001), and gender (OR = 2.27, 95% CI: 1.52-3.38, P < 0.001).

This study found a positive correlation between nutritional status and functional capacity in the elderly population of Amirkola City. Therefore, planning for nutritional status improvement can be effective in improving the functional capacity and quality of life of the elderly.