Is living in the community associated with better nutritional status than living in long-term care facilities?

Abstract

Background: Currently, Brazil has 26 million people aged ≥ 60 years. Population aging is associated with a higher prevalence of chronic health conditions which, in turn, are associated with functional dependence and the need for institutionalization. The aim of the study was to evaluate the nutritional status of a sample of institutionalized and non-institutionalized older people in the Brazilian city of Bauru and determine whether the institutionalized individuals had more inadequate nutritional status compared to the community dwellers. Methods: Ninety-five individuals from 10 long-term care homes in Bauru, São Paulo state, and 101 community-dwelling users of three centers for the aged in Bauru, São Paulo state, were assessed. After collection of sociodemographic and clinical data, the evaluation of nutritional status was conducted using body mass index. Results: Sixty-one (60.4%) non-institutionalized and 51 (53.9%) community dwellers were classified as inadequate (underweight or overweight) based on nutritional status. In the multivariate analysis, an ordinal logistic regression model was adjusted for the variable “nutritional status.” Regarding body mass index, elderly living in the community were 2.9 times more likely to shift from the underweight to overweight category [OR = 2.9, 95%CI 1.0–8.0, P = 0.0477)]. Conclusions: In this study, it was concluded that institutionalization was not associated with poorer nutritional status compared to community dwellers.