Sharkey, Joseph R; Haines, P. S.; Zohoori, Namvar
Author Affiliation, Ana.
Tropical Medicine Research Institute
Community-based screening: Association between nutritional risk status and severe disability among rural home-delivered nutrition participants
Journal of Nutrition for the Elderly
Date of Publication
In order to examine the association between high nutritional risk status and severe functional disability (any ADL and any IADL) among a racially diverse sample of community-dwelling older adults participating in the home-delivered nutrition program, a cross-sectional analysis was performed on data collected on all participants (n=245) in two rural North Carolina counties. Using multivariate logistic models, participants with a high nutritional risk status were 2. 4 times more likely to report severe functional disability than those with low or moderate nutritional risk status. Age demonstrated as unexpected inverse association with both nutritional risk status and functional disability. This study supports the conclusion that home-delivered participants at high risk for poor nutrition are also at high risk for severe functional disability. This underscores the importance of nutritional and functional screening as an antecedent for community-based targeted interventions to help older adults remain independent and in their home.....