[Anthropometry of elderly people living in geriatric institutions, Brazil].
OBJECTIVE
To provide anthropometric and body composition information on elderly people living in geriatric institutions.


METHODS
Three-hundred and five elderly people, of both sexes, living in six geriatric institutions in Fortaleza were assessed. The following anthropometric variables were studied: weight, height, body mass index, mid-arm circumference, triceps skinfold thickness, arm muscle circumference, and corrected arm-muscle area. The body mass index was calculated as weight divided by the square of the height (m2). The arm muscle circumference and corrected arm-muscle area were calculated using specific equations. The results are presented as means, standard deviations and percentiles (5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th and 95th). The analyses included Student t-test to detect differences in mean values of the variables between both sexes. Age impact was investigated by ANOVA.


RESULTS
In all variables, mean values in men were higher than those in women, except for triceps skinfold thickness . The mean difference of the variables body mass index and mid-arm circumference for both sexes were not statistically significant (p>0.05). Age has significantly contributed to reducing the variables' values. This means that specific reference standards are needed for elderly people.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite being institutionalized, there was seen a trend of decreasing anthropometric values in the study population similar to that found in other studies of elderly people but with different values. Thereby, such values could be useful in the nutritional assessment of institutionalized elderly people.
de Menezes
Tarciana Nobre
TN
Departamento de Nutrição, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. tnmenezes@yahoo.com.br
de Fátima Nunes Marucci
Maria
M
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods*; D001823:Body Composition; D001938:Brazil; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status