Nutritional and Cognitive Status in Elderly Subjects Living in Service Flats, and the Effect of Nutrition Education on Personnel

Abstract

Background: There is limited knowledge about the nutritional and cognitive status in elderly and chronically ill subjects living in sheltered housing. Objective: To perform a 6-month follow-up study in order to investigate (1) nutritional status and its relationship to cognitive function in elderly people living in service flats, and (2) the effect of a 9-hour educational program given to personnel working in the service flats. Methods: Of 93 eligible subjects, 28 agreed to participate (age 81 ± 7 years, 75% women). Body mass index (BMI), triceps skin fold (TSF), arm muscle circumference (AMC), appetite, Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), serum albumin, serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and Mini Mental Test (MMT) were assessed on two occasions with a 6-month interval. The staff of the service flats answered a questionnaire before and 6 months after an educational program. Results: At the start, BMI, TSF and AMC were within the normal ranges, e.g. BMI 26.6 ± 3.1 for men and 25.6 ± 3.2 for women. Three subjects were suspected to be malnourished and 2 were malnourished according to SGA. Among 20 randomly selected subjects who chose not to participate in the investigation, age, sex, BMI, weight loss and appetite were not significantly different from those values in participants. However, none of the latter had a BMI <20 compared to 10% in non-participants. The MMT results suggested cognitive dysfunction in 41% of the subjects. On the first test occasion, MMT correlated with BMI (r = 0.43, p < 0.03), weight loss (r = 0.4, p < 0.05) and age (r = –0.38, p < 0.05). The ability of the personnel to suggest suitable nutrition for fictitious patient cases appeared to have improved after the educational program. At the 6-month follow-up, the BMI in men rose to 27.0 ± 3.4 (p < 0.05), while other anthropometric measurements remained unchanged. Serum IGF-1 lay within the normal range, as did serum albumin which, however, rose from 39.1 ± 2.9 to 41.2 ± 3.5 g/l (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Fifteen to twenty percent of the individuals studied in the service flats displayed definite or possible signs of malnutrition. Cognitive function correlated with BMI, weight loss and age. The educational program appeared to increase the nutritional knowledge in personnel working in the service flats. At the 6-month follow-up, the nutritional status of the residents had not deteriorated.