Objectives This study sought to assess the effectiveness of community-based nutrition counseling on improving nutritional status, managing complex chronic diseases, and enhancing the quality of life for elderly individuals with chronic conditions, particularly in older adults with high levels of food insecurity and multiple chronic illnesses. Methods Thirty elderly subjects with diabetes and hypertension who were registered at local Senior Welfare Center received individualized nutrition counseling, based on their Nutrition Quotient for the Elderly (NQ-E) index. Over a 16-week period, they received tailored counseling and underwent various health and nutritional assessments. The final analysis included 28 participants after two dropped out. Data analysis was conducted using the SPSS v28.0. Results The subjects were over 70, with multiple chronic diseases including diabetes and hypertension and predominantly female. After 16 weeks, significant improvements were observed in the subjects’ grip strength, and HbA1c levels, as well as in their NQ-E scores, indicating improved dietary balance and diversity. There were no significant improvements in the ‘Moderation’ subdomain of the NQ-E index, suggesting that this aspect requires further attention in nutritional counseling. The subjects' nutritional risk scores (NSI) were also significantly decreased, indicating less nutritional risk. Lastly, as measured by the SF-36K, the subjects’ quality of life showed significant improvement in several domains including physical role performance and social function. Conclusions This study demonstrates that tailored nutrition counseling, based on the NQ-E index, can improve elderly health, manage chronic diseases, and enhance quality of life. This approach potentially broadens the scope of community nutritionists' roles within an aging society.
However, additional research is necessary to evaluate these interventions' long-term effects and sustainability.
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A Basic Study to Establish a Nutrition Education System for Welfare Facilities for the Elderly at Home Using Body Composition Analysis and Nutritional Management Cards Sun Hee Lee, Seung-Lim Lee The Korean Journal of Community Living Science.2024; 35(3): 471. CrossRef
Objectives This study examined the changes in dietary habits, the prevalence of chronic diseases, and mental health problems in the regional areas of the Republic of Korea before and after the COVID-19 pandemic to provide evidence of the status of regional health inequalities. Methods This study analyzed Korean adults aged 19 or older who participated in the Korea Community Health Survey (n = 686,708) and Consumer Behavior Survey for Foods (n = 19,109) from 2018 to 2020. The participants were classified according to their residence area (Seoul metropolitan area, Metropolitan cities, Provinces); 2018-2019 were defined as before COVID-19, and 2020 as after COVID-19. The dietary behaviors, chronic diseases, and mental health problems were measured using a self-report questionnaire. Results After COVID-19, the eating-out usage rate in the Seoul metropolitan area and Provinces decreased compared to before COVID-19 (P < 0.001), and when responding that they eat out, the frequency of eating out with household members in the Seoul metropolitan area increased (P = 0.024). The deliveries/takeout usage rate in the Provinces decreased after COVID-19 compared to before (P < 0.001). After COVID-19, the prevalence of obesity decreased in all regions (P < 0.001), and the prevalence of hypertension increased significantly in the Provinces (P = 0.015). The prevalence of diabetes mellitus increased continuously before and after COVID-19 in all regions (P < 0.002). High-risk subjective stress levels increased significantly in the Seoul metropolitan area (P < 0.001), and sleep duration significantly increased in all regions (P < 0.001). Major depressive disorder was reduced significantly in Metropolitan cities (P = 0.042) and Provinces (P < 0.001). Conclusions After the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of chronic diseases and mental health problems showed regional differences along with changes in dietary habits. It is necessary to reflect the regional differences in dietary habits in future policies resolving regional health inequalities.
Objectives This study investigated the health and nutritional status of the elderly according to the number of chronic diseases, using data obtained from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013~2015.
Methods: Data from a total of 2,310 individuals, aged 65 years and over, were used for the analysis. The elders were divided into 0 (n=375), 1 (n=673), 2 (n=637) and 3 or more (n=625) groups, by considering the number of chronic diseases.
Results: Compared to other groups, the elderly subjects who were living with their spouse had the highest ratio in group 0 (P < 0.05), whereas subjects without economic activities had highest ratio in 3 or more group (P < 0.05). The EQ-5D index of subjects in the 0 group (0.90 ± 0.01) was higher than that in the 3 or more group (0.86 ± 0.01) (P< 0.05). After adjusting for confounding factors, the energy intake of subjects was determined to be lowest in the 3 or more group (P < 0.05). Protein (P < 0.05) and riboflavin (P < 0.05) intakes of the 3 or more group were also lower than other groups.
Conclusions: This study indicates that multimorbidity of the elderly is associated with their health and nutritional status. The nutrients intake of the elderly, especially energy, protein and riboflavin, tended to be lowest in the 3 or more group. Further research is required to elucidate the risk factors related to presence of multimorbidity in the elderly.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among serum adiponectin, leptin and vitamin D concentrations and the metabolic syndrome in Korean farmers. 105 (26 males, 79 females) farmers (39~78 years, mean age 59.4 +/- 9.6 years) in Gangwon - area were included in this study. Anthropometric measurements and biochemical blood analysis of subjects were carried out. The prevalence of obesity, abdominal obesity, hypertension, diabetes, hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia and hyper LDL-cholesterolemia, metabolic syndrome were 51.9%, 65.7%, 49.5%, 15.3%, 17.3%, 13.5%, 11.5% and 40.9%, respectively. Serum adiponectin and leptin levels (8.90 microg/ml and 12.6 ng/ml) of females were significantly higher than those (6.49 microg/ml and 4.88 ng/ml) of males. But there was no significant difference in 25(OH)vitamin D concentration between males (15.4 ng/ml) and females (16.9 ng/ml). In the subjects with metabolic syndrome, the adiponectin levels were significantly lower and leptin levels were significantly higher than those of the subjects without metabolic syndrome. Serum adiponectin level had positive correlations with HDL-cholesterol level (r = 0.325, p < 0.001), but showed negative correlations with triglyceride and fasting blood glucose concentrations, body weight and waist/hip circumference ratio (r = -0.202 ~ -0.317, p < 0.05). Serum leptin and 25(OH)vitamin D concentrations were positively correlated with body fat (kg, %) and BMI, waist and hip circumferences (r = 0.244 ~ 0.682, p < 0.001). The results of this study suggested that adiponectin and leptin levels could be credible indices to predict chronic diseases in farmers. However, further research on vitamin D should be carried out considering another factors.
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The Measurements of the Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) and the Accuracy of RMR Predictive Equations for Korean Farmers Hee-Ryoung Son, Seo-Eun Yeon, Jung-Sook Choi, Eun-Kyung Kim Korean Journal of Community Nutrition.2014; 19(6): 568. CrossRef