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Factors Contributing to Low Weight in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Article information

Res Community Public Health Nurs. 2011;22(4):429-437
Publication date (electronic) : 2014 April 04
doi : https://doi.org/10.12799/jkachn.2011.22.4.429
Jung Soon Kim1, Yun Hee Kim2, Jung Ok Yu3
1Professor, College of Nursing, Pusan National University, Korea.
2Full-time lecture, Department of Nursing, Bukyong National University, Korea.
3Dotoral Student, College of Nursing, Pusan National University, Korea.
Address reprint requests to: Yu, Jung Ok, College of Nursing, Pusan National University, Beomeo-ri, Mulgeum-eup, Yangsan 626-870, Korea. Tel: 82-51-510-8352, Fax: 82-51-510-8308, jungok.yu@pusan.ac.kr
Received 2011 October 30; Revised 2011 December 13; Accepted 2011 December 13.

Abstract

Purpose

The purposes of this study were to describe the prevalence of low weight and to investigate related factors contributing to low weight in community-dwelling older adults.

Methods

From the database of the Fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES-IV), the researchers selected 2,964 older adults aged over 65. The original study was a population-based epidemiological survey of health and nutrition with a stratified multistage clustered probability design. Data were analyzed using χ2-test and multiple logistic regression with the SPSS/WIN 18.0 program.

Results

The prevalence of low weight in older adults was 4.7%. The prevalence of low weight was different according to demographic characteristics. That is, the rate was higher in male elders, older ones, and rural residents. In the cases of current smoking, frequent alcohol consumption and no chronic disease, the prevalence of low weight was higher. Age, gender, area of residence, and current smoking were found to be contributing factors to low weight in community-dwelling older adults.

Conclusion

The result of this study provides important insights into possible reasons for low weight in community-dwelling older adults and suggests that low weight should be considered in promoting older adults' health.

Keywords: Aged; Weight loss

Notes

This study was supported by the Research Institute of Nursing Science, Pusan National University.

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Article information Continued

© 2011 Korean Academy of Community Health Nursing

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Funded by : Research Institute of Nursing Science, Pusan National University

Table 1

Difference in Low Body weight Prevalence among the Elderly Socio-demographics, Health related & Dietry Habit Characteristics

Table 1

†Unweighted; ‡Weighted.

Table 2

Contributing Factors for Low Body Weight in Elderly

Table 2

OR=odds ratio; CI=confidence interval.