title: Association between Malnutrition and Depression in Elderly People in Razavi Khorasan: A Population Based-Study in Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To determine the prevalence of malnutrition and depression in free-living elderly people and their relationships (If any) in Razavi Khorasan, Iran 2007.
  
  
  METHODS
  To evaluate nutritional status, we used Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) method in free-living elderly people (n=1565 using cluster sampling, 720 males and 845 females, aged≥ 60 yr) and their relationship to Socio Economic Conditions (SECs). Based on the final scores, our patients were classified into three groups: score 17-23.5 (at risk for malnutrition), score less than 17 (with malnutrition), and score 24-30 (well nourished). To determine the mood status (here depression), we used Geriatric Depression Score (GDS). According to this score our participants turned out to be in two distinct groups: depressed (score ≥8) and non-depressed (score < 8).
  
  
  RESULTS
  From the total subjects entered the study (1495), 22.07% were depressed and 11.5% and 44% were malnourished or at risk of malnutrition respectively. In depressed group, the prevalence of malnutrition was 14.5% (48 out of 330) and the prevalence of "at risk of malnutrition" was 45.8%, whereas the prevalence of malnutrition and at risk of malnutrition in non-depressed population were 10.6% and 43.3% respectively. From the aforementioned information we have concluded that there is a significant statistical difference between the prevalence of malnutrition in depressed and non-depressed individuals (P= 0.047).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With respect to the high rate of vegetative symptoms in elderly depressed individuals, malnutrition would have a higher prevalence in the depressed people.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Psychiatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Psychiatric Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mokhber
authors.forename: Mr
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Majdi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ali-Abadi
authors.forename: Mt
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shakeri
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kimiagar
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Salek
authors.forename: P Ahmadi
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Moghaddam
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sakhdari
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Azimi-Nezhad
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghayour-Mobarhan
authors.forename: Ss
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Soluti
keywords: Depression; Geriatric depression score (GDS); Iran; Malnutrition; Mini nutritional assessment (MNA)