Risk of malnutrition is associated with mental health symptoms in community living elderly men and women: The Tromsø Study

BMC Psychiatry

Research Article

Bjarne K Jacobsen¹  Jan-Magnus Kvamme²  Jon Florholmen³  Ole Grønli⁴ 

[1] Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø, N-9037, Tromsø, Norway;Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø, N-9037, Tromsø, Norway;Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital North Norway, N-9037, Tromsø, Norway;Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital North Norway, N-9037, Tromsø, Norway;Laboratory of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tromsø, N-9037, Tromsø, Norway;Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, University Hospital North Norway, N-9037, Tromsø, Norway;

关键词: Mental Health;    Depressive Symptom;    Eating Disorder;    Body Mass Index Category;    Mini Nutritional Assessment;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-244X-11-112

 received in 2011-01-28, accepted in 2011-07-17,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundLittle research has been done on the relationship between malnutrition and mental health in community living elderly individuals. In the present study, we aimed to assess the associations between mental health (particularly anxiety and depression) and both the risk of malnutrition and body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) in a large sample of elderly men and women from Tromsø, Norway.MethodsIn a cross-sectional survey, with 1558 men and 1553 women aged 65 to 87 years, the risk of malnutrition was assessed by the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool ('MUST'), and mental health was measured by the Symptoms Check List 10 (SCL-10). BMI was categorised into six groups (< 20.0, 20.0-22.4, 22.5-24.9, 25.0-27.4, 27.5-29.9, ≥ 30.0 kg/m2).ResultsThe risk of malnutrition (combining medium and high risk) was found in 5.6% of the men and 8.6% of the women. Significant mental health symptoms were reported by 3.9% of the men and 9.1% of the women. In a model adjusted for age, marital status, smoking and education, significant mental health symptoms (SCL-10 score ≥ 1.85) were positively associated with the risk of malnutrition (odds ratio 3.9 [95% CI 1.7-8.6] in men and 2.5 [95%CI 1.3-4.9] in women), the association was positive also for subthreshold mental health symptoms. For individuals with BMI < 20.0 the adjusted odds ratio for significant mental health symptoms was 2.0 [95% CI 1.0-4.0].ConclusionsImpaired mental health was strongly associated with the risk of malnutrition in community living elderly men and women and this association was also significant for subthreshold mental health symptoms.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Kvamme et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011