Prevalence of malnutrition among institutionalized elderly subjects in Trieste, Northen Italy

Aim: to evaluate nutritional status in a representative sample of guests of residential homes for the elderly using the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA, Nestle (R)) and compare results with data from literature. Design: cross-sectional study of prevalence using cluster sampling in two stages. Setting and participants: the investigation focused on a sample of 420 guests of 37 facilities for the elderly, out of 2,967 residents in 89 facilities in the province of Trieste. The target population was characterised by age >= 65 years, with different degrees of self-sufficiency. Data were collected during 2010. Main outcome measures: nutritional status as defined by the MNA (good, bad, risk of malnutrition). Results: the prevalence of malnutrition and risk of malnutrition are respectively 14.1% (CI95% 10.2-18.0) and 48.6% (CI95% 43.4-53.8). The prevalence of mal-nutrition is higher among people residing in facilities for non self-sufficient guests: 21.4% (14.9 to 27.9) versus 9.5% (4.7 to 14.3) among people residing in facilities for self-sufficient guests. The intracluster correlation coefficients (ICC) and the relative standard error (ES) for the variables "normal nutritional status", "risk of mal-nutrition" and "bad nutrition" are respectively 0.19 (0.05); 0.02 (0.03); 0.05 (0.04). Conclusion: the prevalence of malnutrition and risk of malnutrition in residential facilities for the elderly in the province of Trieste is in line with the literature. The adoption of systematic nutritional screening, under the supervision and the support of the Prevention Departments, would allow a timely adoption of preventive and targeted therapeutic interventions.