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Nutrition in the elderly
- Source :
- Best Practice & Research Clinical Gastroenterology. 15:869-884
- Publication Year :
- 2001
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2001.
-
Abstract
- Malnutrition is more common in elderly persons than in younger adults. Ageing itself, however, neither leads to malabsorption nor to malnutrition with the exception of a higher frequency of atrophic gastritis in older persons. Malnutrition in elderly people is therefore a consequence of somatic, psychic or social problems. Typical causes are chewing or swallowing disorders, cardiac insufficiency, depression, social deprivation and loneliness. Undernutrition is associated with a worse prognosis and is an independent risk factor for morbidity and mortality. Awareness of this problem is therefore important. For the evaluation of nutritional status, it must be remembered that most normal values are derived from younger adults and may not necessarily be suitable for elderly persons. Suitable tools for evaluating the nutritional status of elderly persons are e.g. the body mass index, weight loss within the last 6 months, the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) or the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA). An improvement in the nutritional status can be achieved by simple methods such as the preparation of an adequate diet, hand feeding, additional sip feeding or enteral nutrition.
- Subjects :
- Gerontology
Aging
Malabsorption
Gastrointestinal Diseases
Nutritional Status
Enteral Nutrition
Weight loss
Prevalence
medicine
Humans
Risk factor
Geriatric Assessment
Aged
business.industry
Gastroenterology
Loneliness
medicine.disease
Nutrition Disorders
Malnutrition
Nutrition Assessment
Social deprivation
Parenteral nutrition
Body Composition
medicine.symptom
business
Body mass index
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15216918
- Volume :
- 15
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Best Practice & Research Clinical Gastroenterology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....16ee2c0cac6bc4383cfbb8e20fe2ef37