Introduction:

The ageing of populations is an unavoidable fact that occurs in all countries, and in advanced countries it reaches relevant levels. It is a natural, dynamic, universal process, with great individual variability, progressive, gradual and involving changes and transformations at the biological, psychological and social levels. The physiological changes that occur during the ageing process influence the nutrition of older people in different ways, and nutrition throughout the life course influences the way of ageing. In geriatric care, one of the most important goals is the optimization of the nutritional status of the elderly, as this is a very powerful prognostic factor.

Objective:

To determine the nutritional status of older adults admitted to the geriatric service of the Hospital Docente Clínico Quirúrgico Diez de Octubre, in the period October 2020 to June 2022.

Methods:

An observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted, with a universe of 107 patients aged 60 years and over with a diagnosis of malnutrition, who were admitted to the geriatrics service of the Hospital Docente Clínico Quirúrgico de Diez de Octubre, from October 2020 to June 2022 and who met the inclusion criteria for the research.

Results:

The study population was predominantly male and aged 60-69 years. All patients presented some type of morbidity, the most frequent being arterial hypertension and ischaemic heart disease, followed by diabetes mellitus and chronic renal failure, both with equal percentages. Most biochemical parameters were found to be altered, with hypertriglyceridaemia being more predominant.

Conclusions:

When assessing the nutritional status, a higher percentage of malnutrition by default was shown in dependent patients, as well as in those with a low economic level; so we can say that there is a relationship between patients with malnutrition and low per capita level.

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