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Dental and gastrointestinal changes as indicators of nutritional depletion in elderly inpatients
Author(s) -
LeandroMerhi Vânia Aparecida,
PorteroMcLellan Kátia Cristina,
Delbue Bernardi Júlia Laura,
Frenhani Patrícia Baston,
De Camargo José Gonzaga Teixeira,
De Aquino José Luiz Braga
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of evaluation in clinical practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.737
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1365-2753
pISSN - 1356-1294
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2753.2009.01200.x
Subject(s) - medicine , anthropometry , body mass index , gastroenterology
Objective The objective of this study was to identify the associations between the nutritional status of elderly patients and length of hospital stay and presence of dental and gastrointestinal changes. Casuistic and method This cross‐sectional study analyzed anthropometric and food intake indicators, dental and gastrointestinal changes and length of hospital stay of 441 elderly patients of both genders. The Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to verify the correlation between the nutritional status of the elderly patients and length of hospital stay and presence of dental and gastrointestinal changes. The significance level was set at P < 0.05. Results Dietary and anthropometric variables as well as length of hospital stay were similar for patients with and without dental changes. Patients with gastrointestinal changes consumed less energy ( P < 0.05) than patients without gastrointestinal changes. Length of hospital stay was inversely correlated with body mass index ( r = −0.15; P < 0.05); arm circumference was inversely correlated with presence of dental changes ( r = −0.12; P < 0.05) and mid‐arm muscle circumference was inversely correlated with gastrointestinal changes ( r = −0.12; P < 0.05). Conclusion Dental and gastrointestinal changes are important indicators of nutritional depletion and dietary intake of inpatients.