Nutrition risk varies according to social network type: data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

Abstract

Objective: There were two primary objectives, namely: (1) to determine the social network types that Canadian adults aged 45 and older belong to and (2) to discover if social network type is associated with nutrition risk scores and the prevalence of high nutrition risk.

Design: A retrospective cross-sectional study.

Setting: Data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA).

Participants: 17 051 Canadians aged 45 years and older with data from baseline and first follow-up of the CLSA.

Results: CLSA participants could be classified into one of seven different social network types that varied from restricted to diverse. We found a statistically significant association between social network type and nutrition risk scores and percentage of individuals at high nutrition risk at both time points. Individuals with restricted social networks had lower nutrition risk scores and are more likely to be at nutrition risk, whereas individuals with diverse social networks had higher nutrition risk scores and are less likely to be at nutrition risk.

Conclusions: Social network type was associated with nutrition risk in this representative sample of Canadian middle-aged and older adults. Providing adults with opportunities to deepen and diversify their social networks may decrease the prevalence of nutrition risk. Individuals with more restricted networks should be proactively screened for nutrition risk.