journal articles
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKERS OF MALNUTRITION AND MUSCLE WASTING WITH FRAILTY AND PHYSICAL FUNCTION IN OLDER CARE HOME RESIDENTS
A. Slee, T. Ahmed, L. Storey, L. Wilkinson, G. Wilson, G. Garden
J Aging Res Clin Practice 2017;6:176-181
Background: Older care homes residents may suffer from malnutrition and muscle wasting within a background of varying degrees of frailty, comorbidity and disability. Hence, malnutrition is complicated by co-presence of sarcopenia, cachexia and inactivity-induced muscle atrophy. Objectives: (1) to assess the prevalence of malnutrition in care home residents using different methodologies. (2) To examine the relationship between measurements of nutritional status and muscle mass with frailty and physical function; Design: initial pilot study. Setting: care homes for older people. Participants: 73 participants, 46 female and 27 male; Intervention: observational study. Measurements: height (m), weight (kg), body mass index (BMI) (kg), bioelectrical impedance assessment (BIA) of fat free mass index (FFMI) (kg/m2), mid upper arm muscle circumference (MUAMC) (cm), Edmonton Frailty Scale (EFS) and Barthel Index (BI). Results: There was a relatively high prevalence of malnutrition depending on measure used. MNA-SF 0-7 score was 30% for females and 28% males. Low MUAMC was found in 41% females and 53% males; low BIA FFMI in 37% females and 52% males. Good correlation (P<0.001) was found for most measures including against EFS and BI for MNA-SF and MUAMC. Conclusions: Malnutrition prevalence was relatively high. MNA-SF and MUAMC correlated well with functional status and frailty EFS measures. FFMI by BIA correlated well with MNA-SF and MUAMC. This range of practical techniques should be explored further for determining malnutrition risk and muscle wasting in relation to functionality and frailty in care home residents.
CITATION:
A. Slee ; T. Ahmed ; L. Storey ; L. Wilkinson ; G. Wilson ; G. Garden (2017): The Relationship between Markers of Malnutrition and Muscle Wasting with Frailty and Physical Function in Older Care Home Residents. The Journal of Aging Research and Clinical Practice (JARCP). http://dx.doi.org/10.14283/jarcp.2017.23