Determination of nutrition and appetite status, biochemical findings and anthropometric measurements of elderly individuals applying to the family health center: Iğdir province example

Objective: This research was conducted to determine the nutritional status of individuals over the age of 65 and to investigate the relationship between their nutritional status, sociodemographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements (height, body weight, BMI, etc.) and biochemical findings. Materials and methods: The research was conducted as an analytical cross-sectional study. The population of the research consisted of elderly individuals aged 65 and over who met the research criteria and were registered in 9 FHCs located in Iğdır city center. In order to determine the sample size, it was calculated to be at least 320 people with a margin of error of 5% and a sampling error of 0.05, based on the sample calculation with an unknown universe, based on previous similar studies (N = 320). A total of 331 volunteers aged 65 and over participated in the research. Research data was collected by the researcher using face-to-face interview technique with individuals. In collecting research data, "Survey Form", "Food Consumption Frequency Form", which contains information about sociodemographic characteristics, anthropometric characteristics, biochemical findings, general health questions and nutritional habits, created by the researcher, and "SNAQ65+ screening test" for screening nutritional status were used. '' used. SPSS Statistics v.22 program was used in data analysis. Results: It was determined that the elderly individuals participating in the study were on average 71 years old, mostly male, married, living alone with their spouse in the city center, illiterate, having social security but not working, and not smoking or drinking alcohol. According to the answers of the elderly individuals participating in the study to the SNAQ65+ screening test, 25.5% of women are at risk of malnutrition and 9.1% are malnourished, 20.5% of men are at risk of malnutrition and 9.6% are malnourished. fed. In the biochemical findings of the elderly individuals participating in the study, total cholesterol, triglyceride and LDL cholesterol levels of women were significantly higher than men (p = 0.017;p=0,019;p=0,009).However, HDL cholesterol, fasting blood sugar, iron and vitamin B12 do not differ significantly according to gender (p>0.05). Conclusion: Approximately 33% of the elderly individuals who participated in our study were found to be at risk of malnutrition or malnourished. Additionally, 3.6% are at risk of malnutrition. For early diagnosis, elderly individuals should be monitored by selecting malnutrition screening tests appropriate to their lifestyle and regularly performing screening tests.