The Prevalence of Malnutrition in Iranian Elderly: A Review Article

BACKGROUND: The elderly population following the improvement in health status and life expectancy in developing countries is increasing. Malnutrition causes decreased quality of life and increased mortality in elderly. This study aimed to review systematically and meta-analysis of studies assessing the prevalence of malnutrition among Iranian elderly people over 60 yr of age using Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA). METHODS: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted in 2016 to estimate the overall malnutrition prevalence. Data were collected using the following keywords: prevalence, elderly, aging, malnutrition, nutrition, nutritional assessment, nutritional status, health status, mini nutritional assessment, MNA and Iran in PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Iranmedex, Magiran, and SID. Computer software CMA: Two were applied to estimate the overall prevalence of malnutrition. RESULTS: Seventeen of 811 articles were included in our analyses. The overall estimated prevalence of malnutrition among elderly based on the random effect model was 12.2% (95% CI 8–18.5). In subgroups, the prevalence of malnutrition among elderly living in home based on the fixed effect model was 9.2% (95% CI 7.1–11.9) and prevalence of malnutrition among elderly residents of nursing homes based on the random effect model was 21.6% (95% CI 12–38.6). CONCLUSION: Given the increase in the elderly population in future and the prevalence rate of malnutrition among them as well as the higher prevalence of malnutrition in elderly care centers, more attention to this population group is a matter of necessity.