["Nutrition beyond 65"--amount of usual drinking fluid and motivation to drink are interrelated in community-living, independent elderly people].
BACKGROUND
Elderly people are at increased risk of dehydration due to age-related changes in kidney function, thirst perception, body water content and homeostatic capacity. Special attitudes toward drinking may furthermore contribute to the problem. Surprisingly, little is known about usual fluid intake and the motivation to drink in community-living elderly people. Thus, the aim of the present study was the assessment of fluid intake from beverages and the motivation to drink in this population group.


METHODS
From a random sample of 1200 elderly, stratified into three age-groups (65-74 y., 75-84 y., 85+ y.), 361 fulfilled the inclusion criteria (living independently in private households and mental ability to answer simple questions correctly) and took part in this cross-sectional study. Usual fluid intake of beverages and seven attitudes towards drinking were assessed in personal in-home interviews by standardized questionnaire. Drinking fluid was classified into 5 classes. The relation between drinking fluid and attitudes was checked by the chi(2) test.


RESULTS
14% of all participants (men 15%, women 14%; n.s.) reported usual drinking amounts below 1 l. This proportion was markedly higher in very-old elderly (85+ y. 27%) compared to younger participants (75-84 y. 15%, 65-74 y. 8%; p=0.001). Of all participants, 78% confirmed the statement "I am drinking because it is healthy", while 57% agreed to the statement "I am drinking because it tastes good." Subjects who stated that they pay attention to sufficient drinking amounts (63%) only rarely drank less than 1 l (7%; p<0.001). In contrast, one quarter to one third of subjects who only drink when they are thirsty (54%), who stated to drink little because of lacking thirst (30%) or to reduce the amount of drinking fluid in order to avoid micturition in general (9%) or during the night (12%) drank less than 1 l (all p<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Every seventh subject aged 65 years or older and every fourth aged 85 years or older shows insufficient amounts of drinking fluid. The observed relations between usual fluid intake and attitudes towards drinking argue for the possibility to improve drinking behavior by selective educational measures.
Volkert
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D
Institut für Ernährungswissenschaft, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelm-Universität Bonn, Endenicher Allee 11-13, 53115 Bonn, Germany.
Kreuel
K
K
Stehle
P
P
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003681:Dehydration / Q000517:prevention & control; D004326:Drinking; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D012494:Sampling Studies; D013894:Thirst