Impact of nutritional education in malnourished elderly patients with the comparison of Mini nutritional assessment (MNA) score

Introduction: Prevalnce of malnutrition is high in the elderly. Very few studies exists mentioning the prevalnce of malmutrtion in elderly. In india around 7.7% of the total population belong to elderly age group and in kerala older adults constitute 13% of its population. The health of the elderly contributes to the health status of the population. Malnutrition is commonly seen in elders. There are multiple factors contributing to malnutrtion in this age group. Material and Methods: A sample of 30 patients, 60 years and above fulfilling the inclusion criteria are enrolled in the study. Malnutrition was assessed by MNA score. The score ranges from 0 to 30 points. The score above 24 show patient that are healthy with no nutritional problem, scores within range 17-23.5 indicate patients vulnerable to malnutrition and score below 17 as malnourished. MNA scoring was repeated after 3 months giving the dietary education. Results: 29 patients were found to be at risk of malnutrition and 1 patient was found to be malnourished After 3 months of dietary intervention, 23 attained normal. Conclusion: MNA is a very accurate and effective tool for identifying malnutrition in elderly. Nutrition is an important area that need to be addressed in elder population.