Is the Spanish short version of Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA-SF) valid for nutritional screening of the elderly?

Introduction: a short version of the Mini Nutritional Assessment Large Form (MNA-LF) called Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF) is available for nutritional screening of the elderly. This MNA-SF allows the use of the circumference of the calf (CC) or body mass index (BMI) and shows a good correlation with the MNA-LF. However, only a few researches that have analyzed the validity of the MNA-SF can be found. Objective: to analyze the validity of the MNA-SF (including two different methods, based on the BMI (MNA-SF [BMI]) or using the calf circumference (MNA-SF [CC]). Design: study of diagnostic tests with 255 subjects over 65 years of age. The Chang method was used as gold standard. Cohen's Kappa index, sensitivity and specificity, positive and negative predictive values, the Youden index and the validity index were calculated. Results: the Kappa indexes for the Chang method were very low when comparing the results with those of the MNA-SF versions (IMC and CP) (0.335 and 0.286, respectively). The following validity results were obtained for MNA-SF (IMC) and MNA-SF (CP): sensitivity 70% and 67%, specificity 68% and 66% and Youden index 0.38 and 0.33, respectively, correctly classifying to 68.5% and 66.5% of the elderly. Conclusions: MNA SF is a useful tool (easy, non-invasive and quick to complete) but very limited for nutritional screening.