Relationship between loneliness and the risk of malnutrition for elderly in Indonesian nursing homes
1 Medical Student, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Trisakti, West Jakarta, Indonesia.
2 Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Trisakti, West Jakarta, Indonesia.
Research Article
International Journal of Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences Archive, 2025, 10(01), 023-030.
Article DOI: 10.53771/ijbpsa.2025.10.1.0056
Publication history:
Received on 18 May 2025; revised on 30 June 2025; accepted on 03 July 2025
Abstract:
Elderly persons’ nutritional status is essential for their health in general. The factors associated with the nutritional status of the elderly in nursing homes are still inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between loneliness and the risk of malnutrition in elderly persons. This cross-sectional analytical observational study was carried out between August and November 2024 in a nursing home in West Jakarta. A total of 78 respondents were selected using consecutive non-random sampling. Data were collected on age, sex, loneliness, and nutritional status. Loneliness and nutritional status were determined by means of the UCLA questionnaire on loneliness scale version 3 and the Mini Nutritional Assessment questionnaire, respectively. Chi-Squared and Fisher Exact tests were used in data analysis. Our study results showed that 37 (47.5%) of respondents were 70-79 years old, while 37 (47.5%) of respondents were females, and 63 (80.7%) of respondents were lonely. More than half of the respondents, or 46 (59.0%), were at risk of malnutrition. Malnutrition was present in 9 (11.5%) respondents. Older age (≥ 70 years) (PR: 4.191; 95%CI: 1.495 – 11.794; p<0.005); female sex (PR: 3.657; 95%CI:1.137 – 11.764; p<0.032); and loneliness (PR: 5.250; 95%CI: 1.595 – 17.284; p<0.009) were risk factors for risk of malnutrition/malnutrition. Lonely older elderly females were at high risk of risk of malnutrition/malnutrition. The strategy of early detection and early management should lead all stakeholders to follow up on the malnutrition risk for nursing homes' elderly.
Keywords:
Elderly; Loneliness; Malnutrition; Nursing Home
Full text article in PDF:
Copyright information:
Copyright © 2021 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0