Geriatric depression and malnutrition in the community and in long-term care facilities

OBJECTIVE To assess nutritional status, estimate the prevalence of depression, and investigate possible associated clinical and socio-demographic factors among community-dwelling older adults. METHOD A cross-sectional study was conducted, involving 634 elderly people (>60 years old). We used the Greek validated version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) to assess the level of depression and the Mini-Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF) scale to assess nutritional status. RESULTS Among the participants, 45.6% had symptoms of depression, 60.7% were found to be in normal nutritional status, 22.9% at risk of malnutrition and 16.4% malnourished. Statistically significant differences were observed in the levels of depression (p<0.001) among the different health units and in the levels of malnutrition (p<0.001), with higher rates occurring in nursing homes and in participants of help at home programs compared to opencare centers. Furthermore, a statistically significant negative relationship between the malnutrition score and the depression score was found (p<0.005). CONCLUSIONS Finding the determinants of malnutrition and depression among elderly is of utmost importance, as it may contribute to the implementation of appropriate screening programs and health policies to ensure healthy life and promote well-being in the elderly population.