Nutritional status and health of community-dwelling elderly people in urban areas of the Lalitpur district, Nepal

BackgroundPoor nutrition causes ill health and functional dependence in the older population. Different aspects of elderly health and nutritional status are little known in the growing elderly population in Nepal. This study describes the nutritional status and its association with socio-demographic factors, and health-related characteristics among community-dwelling elderly people in urban areas of Lalitpur district of Nepal. MethodsThe study was a cross-sectional population-based study among elderly people aged 60 years and older, in 5 VDCs around the outskirts of Lalitpur Metropolitan City of Lalitpur district of Nepal. Multi-stage cluster sampling with probability proportional to size was used to select a sample of 360 elderly individuals. Nutritional status was assessed by the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) tool. The data on socio-demographic factors, socioeconomic factors, and health characteristics were presented in percentages, means, and standard deviations. Chi-square, and ANOVA tests were performed to assess the associations of variables with malnutrition. ResultsUsing the MNA score, this study found 13% malnutrition and 45% at risk of malnutrition among participants (177 men and 183 women with a mean age of 71.2 years). About 28% of the study population was overweight with body mass index (BMI) > 25.0. About one-fourth (25.6%) were totally dependent financially on their children. Approximately 65.3% were diagnosed with chronic diseases. Hypertension was the most prevalent disease (26.5%), followed by Diabetes Mellitus. About 28.6% reported insomnia and 18.6% of individuals reported having chronic pain. Educational status, agriculture as an occupation, increased elderly age, and having insomnia were significantly associated with nutritional status. ConclusionsAbout half of the population had poor nutritional status. Elderly people were suffering from chronic diseases, chronic pain, insomnia, and financial dependency. This study indicates an urgent need to take care of the health of the elderly with timely intervention at the community and national level.