Screening of Nutritional Deficiency Manifestations Among Egyptian Elderly: Cross-sectional study

Background : Nutritional deficiencies are frequently not detected or misdiagnosed in old age as they could mimic the natural changes associated with aging Aim : To screen the clinical manifestations of nutritional deficiencies among the elderly . Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 elderly participants with chronic diseases, aged 65 or more, chosen randomly from the outpatient clinic and inpatient at Menoufia university hospital, Egypt. Tools of the study: Demographic and clinical data; a checklist of symptoms and signs of common nutritional deficiency; and a subjective global assessment (SGA). Results : the distribution of potential nutritional clinical manifestations among elderly revealed was variable ; skin rash (29%), easy bruising (41%), loss or thinning of hair (75%), spooning of nails (20%), impaired vision at night (37%), clouding and corneal dryness. (57%), bleeding gums (56%), bone deformities (bowlegs, knocked knees, curved spine) (6%), bone tenderness (49%). There were statistically significant difference between SGA and the following chronic diseases: (DM, hepatic, renal, and rheumatic) also significance associations between (skin rash in sun-exposed areas in hepatic diseases (p = 0.04), spooning of nails in renal disease (p = 0.06), Impaired night vision in cardiac and diabetic patients (p = 0.001), rheumatic diseases had more bone tenderness and diarrhea (p = 0.001) Conclusion : The most common nutritional deficiency manifestations among elderly were; thinning or loss of hair, corneal drying or clouding, bleeding gum, easy bruising, and bone tenderness. SGA based nutritional status of elderly was (35%) well-nourished, (49%) mild to moderate, and (16%) severe malnutrition.