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Rationale: Poor appetite is considered a key factor in the development of malnutrition, a link that can be explained by alterations in dietary intake. Given the limited data on dietary characteristics in community-dwelling older adults with poor appetite, the present study aimed to examine whether poor appetite is associated with lower nutrient intake and more unfavourable food choices., Methods: In 569 participants of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam aged ≥70 years appetite was assessed using the Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire and dichotomised into normal (>14) and poor (≤14). Intake of energy, 19 nutrients, 15 food groups, the Dutch Healthy Diet Index 2015 (DHD15) and Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) were calculated from a food frequency questionnaire. Dietary differences between appetite groups were examined using Mann-Whitney U test and binary logistic regression adjusted for potential confounders., Results: Mean age was 78 ± 6 years and 52% were female. Appetite was poor in 12.5% of participants. Energy intake was 1951 (median; quartiles 1-3: 1,653-2,384) kcal/day with no difference between appetite groups. Poor appetite was associated with lower intake of protein (OR 0.948, 95%CI 0.922-0.973), folate (0.981, 0.973-0.989), zinc (0.619, 0.454-0.846), vegetables (0.988, 0.982-0.994) and lower scores of DHD15 (0.964, 0.945-0.983) and MDS (0.904, 0.850-0.961), as well as higher intake of carbohydrates (1.015, 1.006-1.023), and vitamins B2 (4.577, 1.650-12.694) and C (1.013, 1.005-1.021)., Conclusions: Community-dwelling older adults with poor appetite showed poorer diet quality with a lower intake of protein, folate, zinc and vegetables, compared with those reporting normal appetite and should be advised accordingly., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society.)

Background: To prevent involuntary weight loss in older people, the knowledge about factors affecting body weight (BW) is essential. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the longitudinal associations of multiple oral health aspects with BW in community-dwelling older adults., Methods: This analysis is based on prospective data with a 10-year follow-up of 657 Dutch community-dwelling older adults (age 66.4 ± 5.8 years, 54% female) from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. Participants' characteristics, BW, and 12 oral health variables (teeth, dentures, nine oral problems, self-rated oral health) were assessed in 2005/07 and 2015/16. The association between oral health and BW was analyzed by mixed models and adjusted for demographic, socio-economic, smoking, health, and functional aspects considering data of both assessments., Results: Mean BW was 79.1 ± 13.3 kg at baseline (B) and 77.6 ± 13.8 kg at follow-up (FU). At baseline, 29.6% of the participants reported being edentulous (FU:34.4%) and 55.8% to wear dentures (FU:62.3%). Dental pain while chewing was the oral problem with the lowest (B:5.2%, FU:6.6%) and xerostomia with the highest prevalence at both examinations (B:24.3%, FU:30.0%). Most participants rated their oral status as healthy (B:65.2%, FU:66.9%). Neither edentulism and denture use nor oral problems showed a longitudinal association with BW. In contrast, self-rated oral health was associated with BW (b = 0.724, SE = 0.296, p = 0.015) after adjusting for multiple confounders., Conclusions: In community-dwelling older adults self-rated oral health may indicate changes in body weight in the long term. Therefore, this simple measure could serve to identify a risk for weight loss and to initiate oral interventions in clinical practice.