Background: Nutritional risk screening is typically done in clinical settings to identify individuals at risk of malnourishment. This article presents the first population-level assessment of nutritional risk based on a large national sample representative of Canadian householders aged 65 or older.
Data sources and methods: Data from the 2008/2009 Canadian Community Health Survey-Healthy Aging were used to estimate the prevalence of nutritional risk by selected characteristics. Factors associated with nutritional risk were examined with restricted and full logistic models. The distribution of responses on the SCREEN II-AB nutritional risk instrument is reported.
Results: Based on the results of the 2008/2009 survey, 34% of Canadians aged 65 or older were at nutritional risk. Women were more likely than men to be at risk. Among people with depression, 62% were at nutritional risk, compared with 33% of people without depression. Level of disability, poor oral health, and medication use were associated with nutritional risk, as were living alone, low social support, infrequent social participation, and not driving on a regular basis. Lower income and education were also associated with nutritional risk.
Interpretation: Nutritional risk is common among seniors living in private households in Canada. The characteristics of people most likely to be at nutritional risk provide evidence for targeted screening and assessment.
Keywords: diet; eating; food intake; malnutrition; morbidity; nutrition assessment; seniors.