Risk factors of Malnutrition on the iranian elderly: A Review Study

The relevant risk factors of malnutrition among the elderly must be identified in order to design an appropriate interventional program to prevent malnutrition among them. Therefore, the aim of this simple review study was to explain the concept and risk factors of malnutrition in Iranian elderly population. The abstracts of articles were unsystematically searched in Scopus, Pubmed, Proquest, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Isc, Irandoc, Magiran and the articles were reviewed without time limit. Keywords including risk factors, effective factors, malnutrition, etiology, predictor and determinant with the terms of aging, old-old, senior, Iranian elderly were used to access the relevant articles. According to the criteria, 23 of 55 articles were finally included in the current study. Based on the results of the studies, the prevalence of malnutrition in Iranian elderly adults is 12.2%. Demographic characteristics, psychological variables, lifestyle and physiological variables are predictors of malnutrition in the elderly. Social support is the most important protective factor against malnutrition in the elderly. It is suggested that the government officials, doctors, nurses and nutritionists should take the necessary measures to remove the risk factors such as loneliness, depression and poverty.