Prevalence of malnutrition risk among older French adults with culinary dependence

Abstract

Objective The term ‘culinary dependence’ denotes a situation in which someone delegates all or part of their daily meal-related activities to a third party. The present study aimed to explore nutritional risk among older people (≥65 years) with culinary dependence. Method The first survey included 559 people either living at home without help, with help unrelated to food activities, with help related to food activities or living in nursing home. The second survey included 319 people with food help provided by a caregiver, by meals-on-wheels or by a nursing home. Nutritional status was assessed with the Mini-Nutritional Assessment. Sociological background and wellness variables (health, cognitive and mental status) were collected. Results The first survey found a strong association between culinary dependence and nutritional risk. About half of the people who delegated their food-related activities were malnourished or at risk of malnutrition compared with only 4% for people with no help and 12% for people with help unrelated to food activity. According to the second survey, this prevalence varied slightly depending on who the tasks were delegated to (46% for those who had the support of a caregiver; 60% for those who used a meals-on-wheels service; 69% for those living in nursing home). According to multivariate analyses, dependence categories, depressive symptoms and cognitive status were identified as independent determinants of malnutrition. Conclusion Without inferring a causal relationship between dependence and malnutrition, there is a strong need for care structures to take into account the issue of malnutrition when developing services targeting older people.

Prevalence of Undernutrition and Risk of Undernutrition in Overweight and Obese Older People

“…Sample characteristics and primary analyses are published in Van Wymelbeke-Delannoy et al (30). For the present secondary analysis, we were able to combine the data from these two surveys seeing that the nutritional status, the weight status and the background variables were measured using the same methods.…”

Loneliness and resilience are associated with nutrition risk after the first wave of COVID-19 in community-dwelling older Canadians

“…Similarly, assistance with meal preparation or delivery was not associated with nutrition risk in our analysis, even though 21% indicated receiving assistance in the past year. Prior research has shown that dependence on others for meal provision is associated with nutrition risk in multivariable analyses (Van Wymelbeke-Delannoy et al, 2022). It was hypothesized that use of services like meal delivery could mitigate risk, as prior research has shown meal programs to improve food intake (Keller, 2006).…”

Frequency and gender differences in the use of professional home care in late life. Findings from three German old-age cohorts

“…Moreover, it has been shown that quality of life of the individuals in need of care can be increased through being cared at home (6). Other professional home care services can also be of great benefit for older individuals with e.g., culinary dependencya support need, when someone is not able to prepare all meals by themselves (8,9). Culinary dependency is commonly associated with malnutrition (8) which in turn may have adverse health consequences (10,11).…”

“…Other professional home care services can also be of great benefit for older individuals with e.g., culinary dependencya support need, when someone is not able to prepare all meals by themselves (8,9). Culinary dependency is commonly associated with malnutrition (8) which in turn may have adverse health consequences (10,11). Using meals on wheels' services may thus be beneficial for older individuals at risk of poor nutrition.…”