SUITABILITY OF THE SHORT-FORM MINI NUTRITIONAL ASSESSMENT IN FREE-LIVING ELDERLY PEOPLE IN THE NORTHWEST OF SPAIN

Objective: To evaluate the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) test and the short-form MNA (MNA-SF) as screening tools for malnutrition risk and malnutrition in the free-living elderly of northwestern Spain. Design: transversal study. Setting: free-living elderly people of northwestern Spain. Subjects: 728 participants (36.4% men and 63.6% women), the average of age for both genders was 80.7±7.4. Results: according to MNA screening 12.5% subjects were classified as undernutrition (MNA<17) and 57.5% were at risk for undernutrition (17≤ MNA ≤23.5). Significant correlations were found between MNA-SF and the full version (r=0.916; p<0.000). The sensibility and specificity of the MNA-SF for the full MNA version were 81.4% and 92.7%, respectively. The regression analyses showed that weight loss had more influence on the MNA score, followed by the Body Mass Index (BMI), acute illness or psychological stress, mobility, self-perceived health status and neuropsychological problems. Conclusions: These data showed a high prevalence of undernutrition risk among the free-living elderly people in northwestern Spain using the MNA test in two steps. The high sensitivity and specificity of MNASF might be sufficient for medical practice to identify patients at undernutrition risk or undernutrition. Generally, the full MNA confirmed the diagnosis for persons identified at risk by the MNA-SF, and planning was needed for nutritional interventions