Abstract

OCARIZ, Jessica Miranda  and  MEZA-MIRANDA, Eliana. Utility of calf circumference as a marker of malnutrition in relation to the mini nutritional assessment, nutritional risk screening 2002 and serum albumin in older adults. Rev. cient. cienc. salud [online]. 2022, vol.4, n.2, pp.19-26. ISSN 2664-2891.  https://doi.org/10.53732/rccsalud/04.02.2022.19.

Introduction: the evaluation of malnutrition in the elderly can be based on anthropometric measurements, biochemical parameters, nutritional tests and calf circumference is one of the methods of nutritional evaluation. Objective: To evaluate the usefulness of calf circumference as a marker of malnutrition in relation to the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), Nutrition Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002) and plasma albumin in older adults hospitalized at the Hospital Geriatrico Prof. Dr. Gerardo Buongermini - IPS between March and April 2019. Methodology: cross-sectional descriptive observational study in 300 older adults hospitalized in the nursing hospital. Sociodemographic variables and nutritional assessment were studied. The sensitivity and specificity of calf circumference compared to MNA, NRS 2002 and plasma albumin were evaluated. Results: 60.3% of the patients were in the age range of 75 to 90 years, 57.7% were female. Nutritional risk according to calf circumference was present in 69%, malnutrition in 54.7% and risk of malnutrition 34% according to MNA, 69.7% risk of malnutrition according to NRS-2002 and mild malnutrition in 32.3% according to plasma albumin. The sensitivity of calf circumference with respect to MNA, NRS 2002 and plasma albumin were 91%, 95.6%, and 100%, and specificity 100%, 65.3% and 65.3%, respectively. Conclusion: calf circumference had a high sensitivity and it is the ideal method and low cost to quickly and safely evaluate this population.

Keywords : nutritional status; malnutrition; serum albumin; elderly.

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