title: Anthropometric characteristics and undernutrition among older persons in a rural area of northern India.
abstract: This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted to assess anthropometric characteristics and estimate the prevalence of undernutrition among older persons in rural Ballabgarh, Haryana, India. A total of 948 participants aged 60 years and above were examined. Their weight, arm span, mid-upper-arm circumference, triceps skinfold thickness, and calf circumference were measured using standard techniques. The prevalence of undernutrition was estimated to be 53.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 50.5-56.9). Logistic regression analysis was done to identify factors independently associated with undernutrition. In the assessment of anthropometric characteristics, the strongest correlation was observed between body mass index and mid-upper-arm circumference (r = 0.88; P < .0001). Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that mid-upper-arm circumference has a higher ability (area under curve = 0.93; 95% CI = 0.91-0.96) of detecting undernutrition among older persons than triceps skinfold thickness and calf circumference. The high prevalence of undernutrition among older persons in rural India warrants major public health interventions.
authors.affiliation: All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Limalemla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jamir
authors.affiliation: All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Mani
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kalaivani
authors.affiliation: All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Baridalyne
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nongkynrih
authors.affiliation: All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Puneet
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Misra
authors.affiliation: All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India sgupta_91@yahoo.co.in.
authors.forename: Sanjeev Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Gupta
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D001837:Body Weights and Measures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012372:ROC Curve; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: aged care; epidemiology; family medicine; geriatric health/gerontology; health management; nutrition/dietetics; public health; public health nutrition