title: High prevalence of undernutrition in Dutch community-dwelling older individuals.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the prevalence of undernutrition in community-dwelling older individuals (≥65 y) using data from various settings.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional observational study was performed to examine the prevalence of undernutrition in three samples (all ≥65 y): 1) 1267 community-dwelling individuals participating in a large prospective population-based study, the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) in 1998/99; 2) 814 patients receiving home care in 2009/10; and 3) 1878 patients from general practices during the annual influenza vaccination in 2009/10. Undernutrition was assessed by the Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire 65+.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean age was 77.3 y (SD 6.7) in the LASA sample, 81.6 y (SD 7.4) in the home care sample, and 75.3 y (SD 6.5) in the general practice sample. The prevalence of undernutrition was highest in the home care sample (35%), followed by the general practice (12%) and LASA (11%) samples. The prevalence of undernutrition increased significantly with age in the general practice and LASA samples. Gender differences were observed in the general practice and home care samples; women were more likely to be undernourished in the general practice sample and men were more likely to be undernourished in the home care sample.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of undernutrition in Dutch community-dwelling older individuals was relatively high, especially in home care patients.
authors: Department of Health Sciences and the EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. j.schilp@vu.nl
authors: Janneke
authors: J
authors: Schilp
authors: Hinke M
authors: HM
authors: Kruizenga
authors: Hanneke A H
authors: HA
authors: Wijnhoven
authors: Eva
authors: E
authors: Leistra
authors: Anja M
authors: AM
authors: Evers
authors: Jaap J
authors: JJ
authors: van Binsbergen
authors: Dorly J H
authors: DJ
authors: Deeg
authors: Marjolein
authors: M
authors: Visser
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D001066:Appetite; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D058006:General Practice; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors