Estado nutricional y factores asociados en adultos mayores de 65 años que asisten a los Centros de Salud Nicanor Merchán y Carlos Elizalde, mayo – noviembre, Cuenca 2022

Abstract

Background: In recent years, elder population has had a remarkable increase. This does not guarantee a better life quality in this population, therefore there is the need to evaluate their nutritional status and associated factors. Objectives: To determine the relationship between physical activity, diet quality and socioeconomic status with the nutritional status of elders older than 65 years that attend the health centers Nicanor Merchan and Carlos Elizalde located in the city of Cuenca, during the period of May – November 2022. Methods: A transverse analytical study was performed. To evaluate the nutritional state, measurements of weight, height, calf & abdomen circumference were taken and MNA-SF was applied. To measure the diet quality, physical activity and the socioeconomic status the following polls were used: ECAAM, IPAQ-C and the “Encuesta de Estratificacion del Nivel Socioeconomico” from INEC respectively. For the tabulation and analysis of data the software IBM SPSS was used. To determine the relationship between the variables, the ODSS RATIO was used. Results: 73.2% of patients were between 65 and 74 years old. There were more women (62.6%) than men (37.4%). The 61.8% was in risk of malnutrition and the 7.3% was malnourished. Close to 81% of the patients had bad diet. The 43% of patients were of a low or mid-low socioeconomic status. The 50% does physical activity: moderate (43%) and high (7%). Relationship between the nutritional status and the diet quality, socioeconomic status and physical activity in the elder adults was not found. Conclusions: Although relation between the nutritional status and the diet quality, socioeconomic level and physical activity was not found, the importance of health promotion and prevention of chronic diseases in elder adults is indisputable.