Prevalence of Malnutrition According to the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition Criteria in Community-dwelling Older Adults in Turkey.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of malnutrition according to the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria in community-dwelling older adults in Turkey.

Methods: Malnutrition was assessed based on the GLIM criteria, and Mini-Nutritional Assessment-Short Form was used for screening. The severity of malnutrition was determined as severe or moderate based on the phenotypic criteria of GLIM.

Results: Five hundred sixty-nine (69% female, mean age 74.42±6.58 years) community-dwelling older adults participated in this study. The educational statuses of the participants were as follows: 17.2%, illiterate; 13.3%, literate; 35.3%, primary school; 7.0%, secondary school; 11.1%, high school; and 16.2%, university graduates. Among the participants, 16.4% were living alone, whereas 43.9% of them were living with their spouses. The rest were living with their extended families. According to the GLIM criteria, 24.5% (n=139) of the participants had malnutrition, and 13.9% of the total population had severe malnutrition. Age was significantly associated with malnutrition [odds ratio 1.064, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.034-1.096, p<0.0001]. No significant difference was found between genders (p=0.207), education groups (p=0.323), and living status (p=0.434) in terms of malnutrition. However, women had higher malnutrition rates than men (26.0% vs. 21.0%) (risk ratio 0.757, 95% CI 0.494-1.160, p=0.207).

Conclusions: The prevalence of malnutrition was 24.5%, whereas the rate of severe malnutrition was 13.9% in community-dwelling older adults. Women had higher rates of malnutrition, and age was associated with malnutrition. We recommend for researchers and clinicians to integrate the GLIM criteria into their practices to create a common language in malnutrition assessment.