NUTRITION AND HEALTH-STATUS ASSESSMENT OF COMMUNITY-RESIDING ELDERLY IN NEW-YORK-CITY - A PILOT-STUDY

Ninety-five percent of persons over the age of 65 years live in the co mmunity and benefit from community-based health and nutrition services . The purpose of this project was to evaluate diet, function, and ment al health in 40 men and women aged 65 years and older who were residin g in a large metropolitan community. Nutritional status was assessed u sing two 24-hour recalls, 5 days of food records, a food frequency, an d anthropometric measurements. Participants responded to standardized activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living instruments and an investigator-developed, performance-based appraisa l of food preparation and management. Cognition and mood mere assessed using the Folstein Mini-Mental Examination and the Yesavage Depressio n Scale. The nutrient intakes for individuals were compared with the R ecommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) and the Food Guide Pyramid. Mean energy intake was 1,625 kcal (range=787 to 2,910 kcal); 7 persons cons umed more than 2,000 kcal. The mean vitamin and mineral intake for par ticipants met the RDAs except for calcium, vitamin D, zinc, and magnes ium intakes. The average percentages of carbohydrate, protein, and fat were 53%, 16%, and 30%, respectively. Nutritional assessments of subj ects with and without congregate meals mere contrasted. Six of the 13 congregate-meal participants were at nutritional risk, compared with 6 of 27 not receiving congregate meals. The interrelationships of diet, functional status, and mental health factors were examined along nith recommendations for future data collection in similar studies.