Relationship Between Malnutrition Risk, Activities of Daily Living, and Adaptation to Chronic Diseases in Older People with Chest Diseases

Introduction. The increased risk of malnutrition in older people may have significant impacts on chronic disease management and quality of life. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between chronic diseases, activities of daily living (ADLs), and malnutrition risk. Methods. This cross-sectional, correlational study was conducted on 352 patients over 65 years old, who had a chronic disease for at least one year and were admitted to Dr. Suat Seren Chest Diseases and Chest Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey. The data were collected using the Descriptive Information Form, Adaptation to Chronic Illness Scale (ACIS), Nutrition Risk Screening -2002 (NRS-2002), and Katz Activities of Daily Living (Katz ADL) scale. Results. The mean age of the participants was 70.65 +/- 4.18 years. All participants were at risk of malnutrition according to the NRS-2002 assessment, 29% were independent, and 35.8% were partially dependent based on the Katz ADL scale assessment. The ACIS score was 82.83 +/- 13.88. Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that age, disease duration, perceived disease knowledge, and interference from the disease with planned activities were significant positive predictors of ACIS, while hospitalization in the last 6 months, the number of meals per day, difficulty in meeting personal care needs, and NRS-2002 were significant negative predictors of ACIS (p < 0.05). Conclusions. Despite the unexpected homogeneity in malnutrition risk, the NRS-2002 score emerged as a negative predictor of chronic disease adaptation. Furthermore, recent hospital admissions, daily meal consumption, and impairment in self -care were also found to have a negative influence, while age, disease duration (in years), appropriate disease knowledge, and the absence of interference from the disease with planned activities demonstrated a positive impact on chronic disease adaptation.