Nutritional status and associated factors among the elderly in Guinea (first national cross-sectional study)

This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional status of elderly subjects in the general Guinean population and the associated factors. A general population, cross-sectional study was conducted among a representative sample from urban and rural areas. Socio-demographic clinical and anthropometric data were collected. Oral status was determined using the University of Nebraska Oral Status Scale. Visual acuity was assessed using the Monoyer scale. Statistical analysis of the data was carried out using the Shapiro-Wilk test, ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis test and Chi-squared test. The standardized prevalence ratio (SPR) of the nutritional status was calculated for each region. Sample included 1,698 subjects with a mean BMI 22.6±4.3 kg/m2. A total of 50.3% had an impaired oral status and 20.3% had moderately to severely impaired visual acuity. The prevalence of undernutrition was 14.4% and obesity was 5.7%. Differences were found in the prevalence of the nutritional status between regions (p≤0.0001) with an SPR >1 for undernutrition in the Labé region (SPR 1.9, 95% CI =1.5-2.5) and for obesity in the Conakry and Kindia regions (SPR of 2.90, 95% CI =2.0-4.05 and 2.32, 95% CI =1.5-3.3, respectively). In Guinea, the prevalence of nutritional disorders was approximately 20%.