title: Malnutrition, Prevalence and Relation to Some Risk Factors among Elderly Residents of Nursing Homes in Tehran, Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Malnutrition and dehydration are two most common types of ailments residents of nursing homes (NH) prone to. It is very important to assess these problems because they can predispose the residents to severe illnesses. The aim of this study was to gather information on nutritional status and its associated risk factors in elderly residents of NHs in Tehran, Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  From 16 NHs in Tehran, 263 residents were randomly selected. Data were collected via questionnaires, including demographic characteristics, past medical history, present health problems and daily routines. The MNA questionnaire was used to gather information regarding their nutritional status.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The present study showed that 10.3% of the elderly residents in nursing homes were malnourished. 66.4% of males and 70.8% of females were at risk of malnutrition. Multivariate analysis showed that after adjusting for confounders the following elderly-related factors were the independent risk factors of malnutrition: consuming half or less than of the food (OR=8.0, 95%CI=3.7-17.7), having no teeth or good prosthesis (OR=1.7, 95%CI=1.1-2.7), diabetes (OR=1.6, 95%CI=1.1-2.4), smoking (OR=0.6, 95%CI=0.3-1.2), studying (OR=0.4 95%CI=0.2-0.9) and praying in their free time (OR=1.8 95%CI=1.2-2.6).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The subjects' health-related factors and their free-time activities and nutritional behavior are the most important factors associated with poor nutrition among elderly residents of NHs; however, further investigation is needed to clarify the role of other factors in maintaining a suitable nutritional plan for them.
authors.affiliation: Maternal, Fetal and Neonatal Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran ; Dept. of Clinical Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetic, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran ; Dept. of Nutrition and Biochemistry, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Lyly
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nazemi
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Neuropsychiatric Epidemiology Unite, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ingmar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Skoog
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Neuropsychiatric Epidemiology Unite, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ingvar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Karlsson
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Clinical Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetic, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran ; Dept. of Nutrition and Biochemistry, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Saeed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hosseini
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Research Center, Rozbeh Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Mohammadi
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hosseini
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Clinical Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetic, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran ; Dept. of Nutrition and Biochemistry, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Javad
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hosseinzade
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Alireza
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Mesbah-Namin
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Neurology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Masoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baikpour
keywords: Elderly; Iran; Malnutrition; Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA); Nursing homes