P576 - MALNUTRITION AWARENESS OF COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY AMONG PANEL MEMBERS OF DUTCH MUNICIPAL HEALTH SERVICES

P576

MALNUTRITION AWARENESS OF COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY AMONG PANEL MEMBERS OF DUTCH MUNICIPAL HEALTH SERVICES

T. Heida¹, B. Ament¹, L. Beekman², M. van den Berg¹, G. Fransen-Kuppens^1,3, M. Nieuwboer^1,4, M. Sealy⁵, M. Spruit⁶, F. Raaijmakers^1,2, H. Jager-Wittenaar^1,5,*

¹Radboud university medical center, Nijmegen, ²GGD Gelderland-Midden, Arnhem, ³GGD Gelderland-Zuid, ⁴HAN University of Applied Sciences, Nijmegen, ⁵Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, ⁶Sterker sociaal werk, Nijmegen, Netherlands

Rationale: In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to quantitatively determine malnutrition awareness of Dutch community-dwelling older adults, and correlated factors.

Methods: Community-dwelling older adults (65+ years) registered as panel members of 5 municipal health services in the Mid-Eastern part of the Netherlands completed the Malnutrition Awareness Scale (MAS) (1) online. The MAS includes 22 items (max. 22 points). Multivariate linear regression analysis (covariates: gender, age, level of education, household size, migration history, self-related health status, body mass index (BMI), and dietary pattern) was performed to identify correlates of malnutrition awareness.

Results: In total, 5091 older adults completed the MAS (58% male, 60% age 65-84 years, 51% higher education level, 56% BMI ≥25 kg/m², 85% omnivorous). Mean±SD MAS score was 15.8±2.8. A higher MAS score was associated with female gender (p<0.001), medium education level (p=0.009) and high education level (p<0.001), household sizes ≥2 persons (p=0.005), and pescatarian dietary pattern (p=0.005). In contrast, a lower MAS score was associated with age groups 75–84 years (p=0.005) and 85+ years (p<0.001), having a migration history (p=0.018), and self-reported health status ‘fair’ (p<0.001).

Conclusion: In this large group of mostly higher educated community-dwelling older, malnutrition awareness was higher in females, the youngest older adults, and those with medium or higher education level. Future research should investigate malnutrition awareness in less educated older adults, and the predictive value of malnutrition awareness in developing malnutrition.

References: Visser M, Sealy MJ, Leistra E, Naumann E, De van der Schueren MAE, Jager-Wittenaar H. The Malnutrition Awareness Scale for community-dwelling older adults: Development and psychometric properties. Clin Nutr 2024;43(2):446-452

Disclosure of Interest: None declared