Turkish Journal of Geriatrics 2006 , Vol 9, Issue 3
THE DETERMINATION OF THE HEALTH AND NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF ELDERLY LIVING IN NURSING HOME AND OWN HOUSE IN ANKARA
Başkent Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi Beslenme ve Diyetetik Bölümü, ANKARA Background and Aim: Nutritional problems and the illnesses which they caused are increasing by age. Determination of elderly health and nutritional problems will be basic data to preventive measures. This study was performed to determine health and nutritional status of 60 and over aged person living at home and nursing home.

Materials and Methods: The study population was consisting of 162 elderly, aged 60 years old, 106 institutionalized and 56 living at home. The data collected with face to face interview method and anthropometrics measurements were made to calculate the Body Mass Index.

Results: The mean age of the participant was 73.7 ± 6.49. The mean BMI of the elderly was 24.9 ± 3.78 kg/m2 for living at home, 25.3 ± 4.06 kg/ m2 for institutionalized. Seventy eight percent of them have at least one diagnosed disease. The most frequently diagnosed diseases were hypertension, cardio-vascular diseases, and diabetes respectively. The ratio of elderly who thought that they can't still nourished adequate and balanced is 43.2%.

Conclusion: Prevention strategies should be prioritized to be protected from health issue in elder ages. Keywords : Elderly, Nursing-home, Nutritional status, Chronic diseases