title: Which body mass index (BMI) is better in the elderly for functional status?
abstract: BMI is commonly used indicator of malnutrition and 18.5-24.9 kg/m(2) is generally regarded optimal. However, there is an ongoing debate on ideal range for elderly. BMI cut-off values vary also between ethnic groups. We aimed to investigate relationships between BMI, functional status and malnutrition in elderly living in a nursing home in Turkey. BMIs of 254 residents were calculated. Chronic diseases and currently used drugs were noted. Functional status was evaluated with Katz-activities-of-daily-living (ADL) and Lawton-instrumental-activities-of-daily-living (IADL). Nutritional assessment was performed by Mini-Nutritional-Assessment (MNA) test. Mean age was 75.2 ± 8.2 years. Subjects were classified into 4 groups as BMI <18.5, 18.5-24.9, 25-29.9, and ≥ 30.0 kg/m(2). ADL scores and IADL scores were higher in higher BMI groups. There were no differences in terms of age-number of chronic diseases. Even in BMI ≥ 35 kg/m(2) residents, ADL was significantly higher than 25-34.9 kg/m(2) residents. BMI was significantly correlated with ADL and IADL scores. In Groups 3 and 4, there were 22.2% and 9.1% residents without normal nutrition, respectively. Better functional status was associated with higher BMI values even in BMIs ≥ 30 kg/m(2). In elderly, relative high rates of undernutrition may be present in BMIs regarded as overweight or obese.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, Istanbul Medical School, Istanbul University, Capa, 34390 Istanbul, Turkey. gbahatozturk@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Gulistan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bahat
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tufan
authors.forename: Bulent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Saka
authors.forename: Sibel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akin
authors.forename: Hilal
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ozkaya
authors.forename: Nurullah
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yucel
authors.forename: Nilgun
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Erten
authors.forename: Mehmet Akif
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Karan
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009735:Nursing Homes; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009752:Nutritional Status; D014421:Turkey