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Key words: Nutritional status - Body mass index - Well being - Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale - Older people
SUMMARY
Poor nutritional status may impair well being indirectly as a consequence of increased morbidity and decline in functional status. The aim of this study was to examine the independent effect of body mass index on the well being of older people. Thirty one hospitalbased patients over 65 years of age were studied. Well being was assessed using the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (PGCMS) - anglicised version. Body mass index and well being were assessed on admission to hospital and at three months. At follow-up, a significant correlation was observed between body mass index and PGCMS values. Further analysis showed that this relationship was linear, with poor nutritional status being associated with low levels of well being and good nutritional status being associated with the highest levels of well being. High or low body mass index was able to predict the
PGCMS score with a poor sensitivity of 44% and specificity of 96%. When the contribution of potential confounding variables was analysed, body mass was found to have no significant independent effect on well being. Instead, the presence of depression was the most powerful predictor of levels of well being. In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that nutritional status, as indicated by body mass index, has no detectable independent effect on well being. However, measurement of nutritional status may still have a role in the assessment of well being, in that, while the finding of a low body mass index cannot be taken as indicative of low levels of well being, the finding of a high body mass index is likely to indicate adequate well being. Further studies, however, are required in this area that would involve larger numbers of subjects and alternative measures of nutritional status and well being.
Introduction
An important part of comprehensive geriatric assessment is the evaluation of well being, which may be impaired by a number of medical, functional and psycho-social factors'. While objective measurement of well being is commonly performed in research settings, it is not currently part of routine clinical practice. This may reflect uncertainties in relation to the accuracy, reliability and...