Variations in nutritional risk among black and white women who receive home-delivered meals.
The maintenance of good nutritional status is a cornerstone of health, function, and quality of life. To assess indicators and correlates of high levels of nutritional risk, sociodemographic, functional status, and nutritional data were collected from a diverse sample of 729 older women. Results from ordered logit analysis indicated that being Black, having an income < or = 125% of the federal poverty level, living alone, and being in the younger-old age group (ages 60 to 74 years) were associated with moderately high and very high levels of nutritional risk. An examination of individual and multiple nutritional risk indicators suggested a heightened vulnerability of Black women to inadequate dietary intake, even net of income and other influential variables. With demographic projections of an increasingly numerous and diverse older population who may face health and nutritional challenges, researchers must strengthen efforts to assist policymakers and service providers to properly target nutrition services.
Sharkey
Joseph R
JR
UNC Institute on Aging Carolina Program in Healthcare and Aging Research, Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 27514, USA. aggie1@mindspring.com
Schoenberg
Nancy E
NE
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D005522:Food Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016330:Frail Elderly; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000191:economics / Q000208:ethnology*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011788:Quality of Life; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016387:Women's Health