Abstract

BAHR VALCARCEL, Pablo  and  CAMPOS LEYVA, Yanitza. Association Between Elderly Frailty and Consumption of a Varied Diet. CCM [online]. 2014, vol.18, n.1, pp. 55-64. ISSN 1560-4381.

Introduction: the study of the risk factors that influence on the elder frailty has a great interest due to the increment of the life expectancy and the decrease of the birth rates observed in the last half a decades. Objective: to determine the association between the state of the elder frailty and the variety in their food consumption, as one of the risk factors of this state. Methods: a cross -sectional study in 125 elderly patients with more than 75 years in an urban area was carried out. The information was obtained with functional tests and interviews that evaluated the level of frailty and the variety of the alimentary consumption. Results: a prevalence of the non-frailty patients existed of 44%, but the rest of them was classified from an apparent frailty until a severe one, there was a minority (12.8%) that consumed a non-varied diet, while most of them consumed a diet moderately or completely varied (87%). A strong inverse correlation was evidenced (Pearson r -0.7665) among the variety of the diet and the frailty. Conclusions: although a high percentage of elderly consume a diet moderately varied and very varied, a significant association was demonstrated between the state of the elder frailty and the variety regarding food consumption.

Keywords : frailty; aging; diet; elderly.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )