Background: Malnutrition is a multifactorial problem that contributes to many health problems, as a cause or as a consequence. In elderly, it is a major health problem as it leads to progressive decline in physical and cognitive health, increased utilization of health services, and increased mortality.
Aim: To screen the elderly persons for malnutrition and to detect the underlying factors of this problem.
Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 320 elderly persons. A structured interview questionnaire sheet was used. It included sociodemographic data; anthropometric measurement; the Mini-Nutritional Assessment-Short Form in its Arabic version; and physical, psychosocial, and cognitive risk factors of malnutrition.
Results: Overall, 35% of the participants were malnourished and 38.4% were at risk of malnutrition. There were significant associations between malnutrition or being at risk of malnutrition and all the studied sociodemographic characteristics (P<0.05) except tobacco smoking (P=0.39). Moreover, significant association (P<0.05) was detected between malnutrition and lack of physical exercise, oral and gastrointestinal tract problems, chronic pain, physical dependency, number of chronic diseases, and number of drugs taken regularly. Social isolation, insomnia, special senses problems, and depression were the significant psychosocial and cognitive risk factors.
Conclusion: Malnutrition or being at risk of malnutrition is prevalent among the rural elderly persons in Qalyobeya Governorate. The underlying factors were sociodemographic factors, lack of physical exercise, morbidities, and some psychological and cognitive factors. It is recommended that nutritional assessment should be included in any designed geriatric healthcare and health appraisal for the elderly.
Keywords: Malnutrition; rural elderly; screening; underlying factors.