MEALS-ON-WHEELS APPLICANTS ARE A POPULATION AT RISK FOR POOR NUTRITIONAL-STATUS

Objective To identify older adults with poor nutritional status among the independent-living elderly applying for meals-on-wheels, and to co mpare how a self-assessment tool and more traditional criteria identif y nutritional risk. Design Descriptive study. Subjects/setting Meals o n-wheels applicants (n=230) between 60 and 90 years of age (mean age=7 7.4+/-7 years) who were free from terminal illness. Nutrition assessme nt data were collected in the home of each participant. Main outcome m easures Risk assessment for poor nutritional status was determined usi ng anthropometric, dietary, and laboratory data and with a Nutrition S creening Initiative (NSI) self-assessment tool - the ''DETERMINE Your Nutritional Health'' checklist. Statistical analyses Differences were assessed using Student's t test for unpaired data. Results Seventy-fou r percent of study participants were found to be at risk for poor nutr itional status according to the study criteria, and 98% were at risk f or poor nutritional status according to the NSI self-assessment tool. Conclusions The majority of the applicants for meals-on-wheels were at risk for poor nutritional status. Thus, many independent-living older adults may need additional nutrition assessment and intervention to r emain independent and in good nutritional status.