A Study on Nutrition and Health Evaluation of Osteoarthritis Elderly in Community

지역사회 골관절염 노인의 영양위험도 및 건강상태 평가

Purpose: This study was to evaluate the nutritional risk and health status of osteoarthritis elderly comparing with that of non-osteoarthritis elderly in urban areas. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted. The subjects were 132 osteoarthritis elderly, 154 non-osteoarthritis elderly. Data were collected by using a questionnaire including Nutritional Screening Initiatives, blood test and measurement of weight & height. Collected data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and $x^2-test$ by using SPSS 12.0. Results: The percentage of high nutritional risk among osteoarthritis elderly were higher than those among non-osteoarthritis elderly(p<0.01). When comparing the main nutritional risk factors such as 'I eat alone most of the time', 'I don't always have enough money to buy', 'I have tooth or mouth Problems that make it hard for me to eat' between osteoarthritis elderly and non-osteoarthritis elderly, significantly differences were found(p<0.05). There were no statistically significant difference in ADL, BMI, Lymphocyte, Hemoglobin, Hematocrit, Albumin and total-Cholesterol between osteoarthritis elderly and non-osteoarthritis elderly. Conclusion: On the basis of this study, it is necessary to figure out the main factors of nutritional risk in arthritis elderly through the cohort study for effective prevention & control in nutritional risk.