The survey tools between older persons' nutrition and frailty risk and chewing and swallowing disorders - a community survey of Tainan City at Taiwan.

BACKGROUND

Delaying disability has become a critical public health challenge, as malnutrition contributes substantially to adverse outcomes such as frailty, sarcopenia, functional decline, and mortality. Early detection and timely intervention are essential to mitigate these risks. However, selecting the most effective and practical assessment tools for identifying high-risk individuals in community-based settings remains a significant gap for frontline public health practitioners.

METHODS

This community-based cross-sectional study utilized a comprehensive screening approach that incorporated multiple validated assessment tools, including the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF), the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures index (SOF), the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), the Ascertain Dementia 8 (AD-8), the Eating Assessment Tool-10 (EAT-10), and a chewing function scale. Physiological parameters were collected, and correlations between these assessment tools were examined. Logistic regression analyses were performed, and the predictive performance of each factor was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC, Area Under the Curve).

RESULTS

The primary factors associated with nutritional risk included age, grip strength, physical activity, history of cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes), and chewing difficulties, with an AUC of 0.675. Factors associated with frailty risk included depressive symptoms, swallowing difficulties, and nutritional risk, yielding an AUC of 0.747. These findings demonstrate the practical value of these tools in community-based screening.

CONCLUSION

The chewing function scale and EAT-10 provide an efficient means of screening for malnutrition and frailty risk in community settings. Incorporating the GDS-15 further enhances predictive accuracy, supporting frontline public health workers in timely interventions, health education, and risk management.