title: Risk Factors for Malnutrition in Older Adults: A Systematic Review of the Literature Based on Longitudinal Data.
abstract: The present systematic review critically examines the available scientific literature on risk factors for malnutrition in the older population (aged ≥65 y). A systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE, reviewing reference lists from 2000 until March 2015. The 2499 papers identified were subjected to inclusion criteria that evaluated the study quality according to items from validated guidelines. Only papers that provided information on a variable's effect on the development of malnutrition, which requires longitudinal data, were included. A total of 6 longitudinal studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review. These studies reported the following significant risk factors for malnutrition: age (OR: 1.038; P = 0.045), frailty in institutionalized persons (β: 0.22; P = 0.036), excessive polypharmacy (β: -0.62; P = 0.001), general health decline including physical function (OR: 1.793; P = 0.008), Parkinson disease (OR: 2.450; P = 0.047), constipation (OR: 2.490; P = 0.015), poor (OR: 3.30; P value not given) or moderate (β: -0.27; P = 0.016) self-reported health status, cognitive decline (OR: 1.844; P = 0.001), dementia (OR: 2.139; P = 0.001), eating dependencies (OR: 2.257; P = 0.001), loss of interest in life (β: -0.58; P = 0.017), poor appetite (β: -1.52; P = 0.000), basal oral dysphagia (OR: 2.72; P = 0.010), signs of impaired efficacy of swallowing (OR: 2.73; P = 0.015), and institutionalization (β: -1.89; P < 0.001). These risk factors for malnutrition in older adults may be considered by health care professionals when developing new integrated assessment instruments to identify older adults' risk of malnutrition and to support the development of preventive and treatment strategies.
authors.affiliation: Population Studies in Oral Health, Department of Oral Health Sciences.
authors.forename: Nádia Cristina
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0142-8079
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Fávaro-Moreira
authors.affiliation: Population Studies in Oral Health, Department of Oral Health Sciences.
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4427-5025
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krausch-Hofmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Clinical Nutrition Unit, Department of Endocrinology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium;
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1770-6862
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Matthys
authors.affiliation: University College Leuven-Limburg, Knowledge and Information Center FOOD, Leuven, Belgium; and.
authors.forename: Carine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vereecken
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University College Leuven-Limburg, Knowledge and Information Center FOOD, Leuven, Belgium; and.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vanhauwaert
authors.affiliation: LUCAS, Centre for Care Research and Consultancy.
authors.forename: Anja
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3136-124X
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Declercq
authors.affiliation: Belgian Center for Evidence Based Medicine, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Geertruida Elsiena
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Bekkering
authors.affiliation: Population Studies in Oral Health, Department of Oral Health Sciences, BIOMAT Research Cluster, Department of Oral Health Sciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; joke.duyck@med.kuleuven.be.
authors.forename: Joke
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8698-1692
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Duyck
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D001290:Attitude; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003072:Cognition Disorders; D003248:Constipation; D003680:Deglutition Disorders; D003704:Dementia; D016330:Frail Elderly; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D007326:Institutionalization; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000209:etiology*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010300:Parkinson Disease; D019338:Polypharmacy
keywords: longitudinal studies; malnutrition; nutritional condition; older population; risk factors