The use of the Mini Nutritional Assessment to assess the Nutritional Status of Elderly Subjects Living in The Riyadh Nursing Home PDF

Keywords

Nutritional status, mini-nutritional assessment, nursing home, body mass index, elderly

Abstract

All elderly residents (total number 74) in the Riyadh nursing home were included in this study Body mass index (BMI), mid-arm circumference (MAC) and calf circumference (CC) were measured. The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MAA), specifically designed for elderly subjects, was used in the study to determine the nutritional status. are: 27% and 43% of elderly subjects were found to be malnourished and at risk of being malnourished, respectively Results. The means the (BMI), (MAC) and (CC) were about 24 kg/m2, 26 cm and 29.5 cm, respectively Elderly people who were classified as malnourished, according to the (MN), had the lowest (BMI), (MAC) and (CC). When the score of the (MNA) was based on the diagnosis of the elderly, the results show that elderly subjects with more than one main diagnosis had the lowest score. Based on the score of the (MNA) test, more than 14 of the subjects were malnourished. Most of the subjects were consuming three whole meals and more than two serving of fruit and vegetables per day It seems that food intake, in the nursing home, was satisfactory, among the subjects. Despite that. the percentage of malnourished subjects reached 27%. The results of the (MNA) test indicated the necessity of performing national nutritional assessment for this vulnerable group of people in other nursing homes and in the community.