Nutrition risk screening in community‐living older people attending medical or falls prevention services

Abstract

AbstractAim: To identify the prevalence of nutrition risk among community‐living older people in Christchurch, New Zealand and to establish the frequently occurring risk factors for poor nutrition.Methods: A convenience sample of 152 community‐living older people was recruited from five medical centres and a falls prevention service. Interview in the home included nutrition risk assessment as measured by the Seniors in the Community: Risk Evaluation for Eating and Nutrition questionnaire. All participants at nutrition risk were either provided dietary advice at the time of interview or offered referral to a nutrition‐related intervention.Results: Of the participants, 23% (n = 35) were ‘at risk’ of poor nutrition and 31% (n = 47) were ‘at high risk’. The four frequently occurring risk factors for those ‘at high risk’ were: unintentional weight change (79%), eating alone (72%), perception of own weight (68%) and low milk product intake (66%).Conclusion: Seniors in the Community: Risk Evaluation for Eating and Nutrition questionnaire identified that approximately half of a sample of community‐living older people in Christchurch were at risk of poor nutrition. The implications of low scores on the nutrition risk screening questionnaire deserve further exploration.