Assessment of nutrition, quality of life, and co-morbidity among the older adult(s), in a rural field practice area of a tertiary care hospital of Eastern India.

BACKGROUND

The global population is experiencing an unprecedented demographic shift, with a growing proportion of older adults, particularly in developing nations such as India. Nutritional deficiencies, comorbidities, and poor quality of life (QoL) are interlinked health issues that significantly affect the wellbeing of the older adult(s), a vulnerable group, especially those residing in rural areas.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the nutritional status, quality of life, and comorbidities among the older population residing in the rural field practice area of a tertiary care hospital in Eastern India and to explore associations among these factors.

METHODS

A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among 380 rural older adult(s) aged 60 years and above residing in the rural field practice area of a tertiary care hospital in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Data were collected using the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF), and Self-Administered Comorbidity Questionnaire (SCQ). Compiled data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 26.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Descriptive data were interpreted in mean (± SD), frequencies, and percentages. Association was tested using the chi-square test, ANOVA, and multivariate logistic regression. Statistical significance was established at p < 0.05.

RESULTS

A total of 380 older adult(s) participants were enrolled (mean age: 71.23 ± 7.60 years, males: 65.8%). Around 4.2% (16) were malnourished, and 69.7% (265) were at risk of malnutrition. The WHOQOL-BREF scores revealed the highest QoL in the environmental domain (27 ± 5) and the lowest in the social relationship domain (8 ± 2). Using the SCQ tool, osteoarthritis (64.7%), hypertension (32.6%), and diabetes (24.2%) were the most common comorbidities, and 82.6% suffered from at least one comorbidity. Increasing age, female sex, and financial dependency were significantly associated with poor nutritional status and lower QoL (p < 0.05). Malnutrition was significantly associated with lower physical, psychological, and total QoL scores (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Malnutrition, comorbidities, and poor QoL are interrelated challenges among the older population. Early identification and integrated interventions focusing on nutrition, chronic disease management, and social support are vital for healthy aging.