Relationship between Nutritional Status with Self-esteem and Happiness in the Elderly in Health Centers in Amol, Iran 20231

Aging is said to be a special pattern of natural changes in life that occurs as people age With increasing age, the elderly suffer from several problems, including a decrease in hope, happiness, and self-esteem, which may affect self-care, especially nutrition. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between nutrition and self-esteem and happiness of the elderly

The present study was a descriptive-analytical study of the correlation type, and following the ethical standards and obtaining informed consent from the company. The research began Research sampling in this study was by multi-stage method (proportional and simple random). First, among the 18 health centers of Amel city, 7 centers were randomly selected, then again, by simple random and lottery method from among the target population (elderly people), until reaching the desired volume of the study, in 1401 became Simple random sampling was done by preparing a list of people eligible for the study in the selected health care center, then we selected the required number of samples by lottery. The inclusion criteria included being over 60 years old, living in Amel City, the absence of problems such as acute mental disability, the absence of cognitive impairment (using AMT, Alzheimer's, and cancer), and the ability to communicate. Non-cooperation during the implementation of the study was considered as an exit criterion. The tools used included demographic questionnaires, cognitive status assessment, elderly depression, happiness, self-esteem, and instrumental activities. The data were analyzed with descriptive (frequency, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential (focal correlation and parameter estimates) tests.

The results showed that the average age of the participants (60 to 81 years) was equal to 65.92±4.64 and the average body mass index of the participants was 23.75±2.54. 14% of the elderly were underweight and 33% were overweight. 12% were at risk of malnutrition. Most of the elderly had high happiness (99%) and high self-esteem (59%). The correlation coefficient of happiness and self-esteem is 0.378. As a result, in this study, nutrition had no significant relationship with the self-esteem and happiness of the elderly. Also, the results showed that the happiness and self-esteem of the elderly had a significant positive relationship with each other(P<0.001). According to the value of P>0.050, there is no relationship between the self-esteem of the elderly and the total score of the supplementary examination and nutrition. According to the value of P<0.050, it means that there is a relationship between the self-esteem of the elderly and happiness, but by observing the value of R square=0.045, this relationship is very insignificant. It can be said that only 4% of self-esteem changes are due to happiness There is no statistically significant relationship between the family self-esteem component and happiness(P>0.05). In other components of self-esteem, there is a statistically significant relationship with happiness(P<0.05). Also, there is no relationship between happiness with the total score of the supplementary examination and the total score of nutrition, P>0.050

This research was a descriptive-analytical correlation study. The results of this study showed that there is a relationship between happiness and self-esteem of the elderly. However, there was no statistically significant relationship between self-esteem and nutrition of the elderly. In general, according to the results of this research, it is suggested to pay attention to the role of general self-esteem, social self-esteem, and occupational self-esteem in the happiness of the elderly. Considering the expansion of the elderly population in Iran and the importance of paying attention to the physical and mental health of the elderly, the results of this research can be useful for planning to improve the capabilities of the elderly.