Nutrition Research and Practice

The Korean Nutrition Society (한국영양학회)
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Malnutrition and its associated factors among community-dwelling older men living alone

  • Gahye Kim (College of Nursing, Seoul National University) ;
  • Minhwa Hwang (College of Nursing, Seoul National University) ;
  • Seonghyeon Lee (College of Nursing, Seoul National University) ;
  • Yeon-Hwan Park (College of Nursing, Seoul National University)
  • Received : 2023.12.22
  • Accepted : 2024.04.15
  • Published : 2024.06.01
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Abstract

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Older men who live alone are more vulnerable to poor nutrition. However, little attention has been paid to malnutrition among this population. This study aimed to examine malnutrition and its associated factors among community-dwelling older men living alone. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This cross-sectional descriptive study used cohort data of community-dwelling older adults living alone in South Korea. A total of 230 older men aged 65 and over were included in this study. Nutritional status was assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form. Multidimensional factors (sociodemographic, health-related, psychosocial, and lifestyle characteristics) were evaluated. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify the malnutrition-related factors. RESULTS: The prevalence of malnutrition was 32.2% in older men living alone. Low income (odds ratio [OR], 2.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-5.90), polypharmacy (OR, 2.23; 95% CI, 1.16-4.28), suicidal ideation (OR, 2.13; 95% CI, 1.02-4.45), meal skipping (OR, 3.26; 95% CI, 1.60-6.64), and smoking (OR, 2.86; 95% CI, 1.43-5.73) were significantly associated with malnutrition. CONCLUSION: Malnutrition is a severe health problem in older men living alone. This study highlights the importance of comprehensive and tailored interventions to mitigate malnutrition among older men living alone.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (grant number: HI18C1284); and the BK21 4 project (Center for Human-Caring Nurse Leaders for the Future) funded by the Ministry of Education (MOE, Korea) and National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) (grant number: 4120200413721).

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