Factors Contributing to Low Weight in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Jung Soon Kim; Yun Hee Kim; Jung Ok Yu

doi:10.12799/jkachn.2011.22.4.429

Journal List > J Korean Acad Community Health Nurs > v.22(4) > 1058237

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Kim, Kim, and Yu: Factors Contributing to Low Weight in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Original Article

Journal of Korean Academy of Community Health Nursing 2011; 22(4): 429-437.

Published online: 4 April 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12799/jkachn.2011.22.4.429

Factors Contributing to Low Weight in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

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 30 October 2011 Revised 13 December 2011 Accepted 13 December 2011

(open-access):

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.

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

Figures and Tables

Table 1

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

^†Unweighted; ^‡Weighted.

Table 2

Contributing Factors for Low Body Weight in Elderly

OR=odds ratio; CI=confidence interval.

Notes

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

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