Evaluation of diet quality and associated factors in geriatric outpatients: A cross-sectional study

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Baltacı, Pelin^{a; b; *; 1} | Tanrıöver, Özlem^{c; 2} | Yavuzer, Hakan^{d; 3} | Erdinçler, Deniz Suna^{d; 4} | Eyupoglu, Ozan Emre^{e; 5}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Institute of Health Sciences, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey | [b] Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Istanbul Kültür University, Istanbul, Turkey | [c] Department of Family Medicine and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey | [d] Division of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Cerrahpasa Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Turkey | [e] Department of Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Pelin Baltacı, Istanbul Medipol University, Kavacık Campus, Kavacık District, Ekinciler Street, No:19, Kavacık Junction, 34810 Beykoz, Istanbul, Turkey. Tel.: +90 0212 498 46 78; E-mail: pelincin34@gmail.com.

Note: [1] Pelin Baltacı Orcid ID: 0000-0002-4601-0322

Note: [2] Özlem Tanrıöver Orcid ID: 0000-0003-0251-3451

Note: [3] Hakan Yavuzer Orcid ID: 0000-0003-2685-6555

Note: [4] Deniz Suna Erdinçler Orcid ID: 0000-0003-1208-4750

Note: [5] Ozan Emre Eyupoglu Orcid ID: 0000-0002-4449-0537

Abstract: BACKGROUND:In this study, our aim was to investigate the quality of dietary intake of elderly individuals and to identify the factors that may be associated with their diet quality. METHODS:This cross-sectional study was conducted with 198 elderly participants. Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) was used to evaluate nutritional status. The frequency of dietary intake was assessed using the Elderly Diet Index (EDI) score. RESULTS:The median age of study population was 76.0 years. The median EDI score was 27.0, moreover, only 27.3%of the study population had moderate or high diet quality. The results of the univariate analysis revealed that having an average or a poor appetite reduced the diet quality in the elderly which was statistically significantly (p = 0.010 and p = 0.019, respectively), and each point increase in the MNA score statistically significantly increased the chance of moderate/good diet quality by 1.16 times. CONCLUSIONS:The poor diet quality of the elderly was associated with their education, appetite, nutritional, and smoking status.

Keywords: Older adult, elderly dietary index, nutrition, dietary intake

DOI: 10.3233/MNM-220112

Journal: Mediterranean Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 41-54, 2023