Nutritional Status Assessment of the Elderly Patients with Congestive Heart Failure by Mini Nutritional Assessment Test

Malnutrition is a common problem among elderly patients, especially those with heart failure, and is known to increase mortality rates. The current study evaluated nutritional status to identify changes in the elderly patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) during hospital stay. This cross-sectional study recruited 225 CHF hospitalized elderly patients, comprised of 154 males (68.4%) and 71 females (31.6%) at a mean age of 71.1 ± 7.35 years. The mini nutritional assessment (MNA) was performed to estimate functional, cognitive and nutritional status. The MNA, an18-item tool to evaluate subjective and objective findings, including anthropometric measurements for nutritional risk, is found to be sensitive, specific and accurate in identifying elderly people at nutritional risk. According to the MNA questionnaire, 9.8% of the elderly were malnourished, 80.9% at risk of malnutrition and 9.3% well nourished. Weight loss, bedsore, and level of knowledge and income had a significant relationship with nutritional status based on the MNA (P value < 0.05). Considering the high percentage of elderly patients with malnutrition or at risk of malnutrition, the need for nutritional intervention is obvious. The MNA seems to be a reliable tool to identify individuals at risk of malnutrition. To decrease hospital stay duration and cost, application of the MNA is suggested.