Gender differences in nutritional risk among older rural adults

Older adults are vulnerable to nutrition-related health problems due to hea lth and psychosocial changes that accompany aging. Those in rural communiti es face additional problems. This study characterizes the nutritional risk of rural older adults using the Nutritional Risk Index (NRI), paying partic ular attention to gender differences in risk. Data come from face-to-face i nterviews with a random sample of 638 White rural adults aged 55 and older Women scored significantly higher on the NRI, indicating greater nutritiona l risk. Women were more likely to report NRI items related to oral health, special diets, disease interference with eating, gastrointestinal problems, and anemia, whereas men were more likely to report smoking regularly A com parison with the application of the NRI in other populations indicates that it is sensitive to nutrition-related health conditions that may be more pr evalent in rural populations, making it a useful tool for measuring nutriti onal risk.