Journal of Integrative Nursing · Published 2025-04-01 · DOI 10.4103/jin.jin_12_25
Objective: The objective of this study is to find out the association between malnutrition and depression among community-dwelling elderly. Methods: The research design was cross-sectional, and purposive sampling technique was used for sample collection. The sample consists of 260 elderly people above 60 years of age, who meet inclusion criteria. Self-structured sociodemographic pro forma used and standard tool of the Mini Nutritional Assessment Scale and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were used for data collection. Results: The mean age of participants was 68.8 ± 7.3 years. There is a significant association between malnutrition and depression (χ2 = 33.04, P < 0.001). Body mass index was associated with malnutrition of community-dwelling elderly (χ2 = 100.43, P < 0.05) while sociodemographic variables such as income (χ2 = 2.58, P < 0.05), BMI (χ2 = 22.21, P < 0.05), and alcohol intake (χ2 = 10.33, P < 0.05) were found to be associated with depression of community-dwelling elderly. Conclusion: This study found a significant association between malnutrition and depression among community-dwelling elderly in India. The findings highlight the need for integrated screening and interventions addressing both nutritional and mental health to improve overall well-being in the elderly population. Thus, nurses can educate the elderly persons and their family members about prevention and management of malnutrition and depression.
Abstract from DOAJ. Public domain (CC0 1.0).
Read the article at the publisher →