Nutritional status of rural elderly malays: Dietary and biochemical findings

A cross-sectional nutritional survey was tarried out on 350 elderly Malays aged 60 and above from 11 randomly selected villages in a rural area on the East Coast of Malaysia. The findings indicated that the mean intakes of energy and all of the nutri ents investigated were below the Malaysian Recommended Dietary Allowances, excepts for protein and vitamin C. Nutrients most likely to be inadequate w ere vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and calcium, with more than 50% of the subjects having estimated intakes of below 2/3 of the recommendatio ns. However, vitamin A status was adequate, with only 2 subjects being bioc hemically deficient (plasma retinol less than or equal to 0.7 mmol/l), Appr oximately a third of the subjects had hypoalbuminaemia (plasma albumin < 3. 3 g/dl) and anaemia (Haemoglobin < 12 g/dl for men; < 13 g/dl for women), R iboflavin deficiency, as assessed by an erythrocyte glutathione reductase a ctivation coefficient (EGRAC) of more than 1.35 was identified in 77% of th e subjects. The prevalence of vitamin E deficiency (plasma alpha-tocopherol less than or equal to 12 mmol/l) was 27%, with men being at a greater risk . In conclusion, the dietary intakes of these rural elderly Malays was inadeq uate. Over three quarters of the sample were biochemically deficient in rib oflavin, the functional consequences of which need to be further investigat ed.