Fatores de Risco de Desnutrição na Pessoa Idosa Residente na Comunidade na População Portuguesa: Uma Scoping Review

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.0562420127

• Palavras-chave: Idoso, comunidade, desnutrição, Portugal

• Keywords: Aged, community, malnutrition, Portugal

• Abstract: Objective: Map the main risk factors for malnutrition in elderly people living in the community in the Portuguese population. Introduction: Malnutrition is a form of undernutrition that has a negative impact on the health, well-being, quality of life and autonomy of older people, and is also associated with increased mortality. Recent studies indicate that the elderly population may reach significant levels of malnutrition and risk of malnutrition. Inclusion Criteria: Quantitative and qualitative studies; peer-reviewed; full text available; published in the last 5 years; studies in Portuguese and English; geography: Portugal; elderly participants; context: community, home support services, day care centers. Methods: Scoping Review was performed using the ESBCO search engine (CINAHL Ultimate and MEDLINE Ultimate content providers) and the PubMed database. The following search equation was used: “malnutrition AND aged AND community AND Portugal”. Results: Five articles were selected for critical analysis, identifying the following risk factors for malnutrition in elderly people living in the community in the Portuguese population: being a woman, older age, tooth loss, hypertension, anemia, cardiovascular diseases, oncological diseases, lower BMI, lower calf circumference, poor perception of health status, low level of physical activity, sarcopenia and depression. Conclusion: Many of the risk factors identified are related to or are a consequence of the adoption of unhealthy lifestyles and are therefore modifiable. It is suggested that further studies be carried out to describe in greater depth the various risk factors and determinants of the nutritional status of the elderly in Portugal.