High risk of malnutrition associated with depressive symptoms in older South Africans living in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: a cross-sectional survey

Table 3 Association between MNA-SF nutritional categories and behavioural and clinical indicators, expressed as percentage within each MNA-SF category

		Nutritional categories of MNA-SF, %			p value^b
		Normal	At risk of malnutrition	Malnourished	p value^b
BMI (kg/m²)
Undernourished	<18.5	0	2.1	16.7	<0.001
Normal	18.5–24.9	14.7	25.1	27.8
Overweight	25–29.9	32.4	28.8	22.2
Obese	≥30	52.9	44.0	33.3
Poor oral health
Yes		22.3	27.9	16.7	0.056
Alcohol intake^a
CAGE score ≥2		42.6	48.0	0	0.118
Social networks
Attended social meetings					0.057
Walked to the shops
Yes		90.1	85.5	72.2	<0.001
Worked in the garden
Yes		50.6	56.1	92.9	0.013
Performed light household tasks
Yes		69.6	66.3	59.3	0.228
Performed heavy household tasks
Yes		38.0	32.9	24.1	0.057
Depressed
CESD score ≥16		37.6	59.7	79.6	<0.001
Diagnosed clinical conditions (n (%))
Hypertension (n = 982)		334 (66.5 %)	269 (63.1 %)	34 (63.0 %)	0.535
Diabetes mellitus (n = 983)		96 (19.1 %)	83 (19.4 %)	14 (25.9 %)	0.485
Stroke (n = 983)		9 (0.9 %)	20 (2.0 %)	1 (1.9 %)	0.033
Arthritis (n = 983)		210 (41.8 %)	155 (36.3 %)	155 (36.3 %)	0.005
Tuberculosis (n = 983)		6 (1.2 %)	6 (1.4 %)	4 (7.4 %)	0.002

^a n = 109 answered this question
^bPearson chi-square test for difference in variables according to MNA-SF categories

ISSN: 2072-1315