Tools to identify nutritional risk for older people in the home

摘要

The incidence of diseases increases with advanced age (Asai, 2004), and, therefore, older people are vulnerable to developing undernutrition, which can be explained by the negative effects of diseases and chronic disorders on eating (Ahmed and Haboubi, 2010). Soderhamn et al (2012b) showed that chronic conditions predicted risk of undernutrition. For example, depression is such a risk factor that has been found to predict nutritional decline among older people in the community (Cailen and Wells, 2005; Soderhamn et al, 2012b). To perceive ill health in old age has also been found to be associated with risk of undernutrition (Soderhamn et al, 2011a; Soderhamn et al, 2012a). Therefore, presence of disease or perceived ill health in older people can be signs of decreased nutritional status.