title: Anthropometric measurements may be informative for nursing home-acquired pneumonia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the relationship between anthropometric measurements and Nursing Home-Acquired Pneumonia (NHAP) risk.
  
  
  METHODS
  Consecutive patients of 65 years or elderly who were living in the Balikli Rum Hospital Nursing Homes were included in this prospective study. At the beginning of this study, the patients' anthropometrics values were measured. The patients were followed for one year, and any incidences of pneumonia attacks were recorded. The relationship between the anthropometric measurements and pneumonia occurrences was analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 133 inmates at the initial assessments. Of 108 patients who were eligible for the study, 77 (72.2%) were female and 37 (27.8%) were male. The mean age of the group was 79.8±10.5. Patients were assigned to a group according to the presence of pneumonia during the one -year follow-up. There were 74 (55.6%) patients who had suffered from at least one attack of pneumonia during the follow-up period. The mean triceps skinfold was significantly thinner in the pneumonia group, and the mean handgrip measurements in both the dominant and non-dominant hands were significantly weaker in the pneumonia group. Furthermore, the frequency of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD) was significantly higher in this group (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The risk of pneumonia was high in the elderly population who live in nursing homes. Simple anthropometric values may be predictive of the potential for Nursing Home-Acquired Pneumonia.
authors.affiliation: Bulent Yardimci, MD. Department of Internal Medicine, Istanbul Florence Nightingale Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bulent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yardimci
authors.affiliation: Sevki Murat Aksoy, MD. Professor, Department of Vascular Surgery, Bahcesehir University Medical Faculty, Liv Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sevki Murat
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Aksoy
authors.affiliation: Ismail Ozkaya, PhD. Associate Professor, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Kirklareli University Health School, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ismail
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ozkaya
authors.affiliation: Tarik Demir MD. Department of Nursing Home, Balikli Rum Hospital, Turkey.
authors.forename: Tarik
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Demir
authors.affiliation: Gulsen Tezcan MD. Department of Nursing Home, Balikli Rum Hospital, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gulsen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tezcan
authors.affiliation: Aysegul Yildirim Kaptanoglu, MD. Professor, Trakya University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of the Health Management Section, Edirne, Turkey.
authors.forename: Aysegul Yildirim
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Kaptanoglu
keywords: Anthropometry; BMI: Body Mass Index.; CAP: Community-Acquired Pneumonia.; COPD: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases.; NHAP: Nursing Home-Acquired Pneumonia.; Pneumonia; SFT: Skinfold Thickness.; Sarcopenia; WHO: World Health Organization.