Relationship of Health Status and Micronutrients Level With Nutritional Status of the Elderly with Psychological Disorders in Razi Psychiatric Hospital

Objective: Elderly with psychological disorders are at risk of malnutrition. Investigating the nutritional status and identifying the effective factors are one of the preventive and control proceeding. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the nutrition status(NS) and examine the relationship of health status and micronutrients level with NS in elder persons. Methods and Material:  in a cross sectional survey, 101 elderly people admitted to Razi Psychiatric Hospital of Tehran in 2018 were selected as the sample. The data were collected with demographics questionnaire, the Mini Nutritional Assessment and the health status, blood sampling and body mass index (BMI). The data were analyzed by the chi-square, Anova test and logistic Regression in SPSS-21. Results: Approximately three-quarters of the participants had an abnormal NS. The results indicated that the NS of participants had a significant relationship with dental health status, physical activity, the serum levels of vitamin D, vitamin B12 and BMI score (p<0.05). After logistic analysis, predictors of NS were reported, vitamin B12 level )OR=1/007 ,CI=1/002-1/012), physical activity (OR=8/539 ,CI=1/142-63/850) and dental status )OR=23/119 ,CI=1/401-38/788). Vitamin D levels were inadequate in 95% of subjects. Conclusion: The NS of most participants was abnormal and the majority of them were suffering from micronutrient deficiencies. Results identify modifiable factors associated with malnutrition. Accordingly, regular nutritional screening and management should be strengthened as ​a pillar component of therapeutic interventions.