Weight loss in nursing home older adults during the first covid-19 pandemic wave: viral infection or disruption of nutritional care organization?

Abstract

Rationale: Older adults frequently report a decrease in appetite which may increase the risk of malnutrition. Aging is associated with low-grade inflammation which might also contribute to the development of malnutrition. We aimed to evaluate the association between inflammation and appetite in healthy community-dwelling older adults. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, appetite of non-smoking older adults (aged 75-85 y) was evaluated by the question: "How would you roughly estimate your appetite?" with five answer categories and grouped into "(very) good appetite" and "moderate appetite"; no one reported (very) poor appetite. Serum C-reactive Protein (CRP) was analysed according to standard procedures, and values >0.5 mg/dl considered as inflammation. The association between CRP and appetite was analysed by binary logistic regression, unadjusted and adjusted for age, waist circumference (WC) and sex. Results: Appetite was moderate in 13.3% of 158 participants (median age 77.0 years, 49.4% female), without differences in age, sex and WC between both appetite groups. CRP was increased in 10.8% overall, in 8.8% of those with good and 23.8% in those with moderate appetite. In the unadjusted model, participants with an elevated level of CRP were 3.2 times more