Association of nutritional and functional status in the elderly with hip fracture

Abstract

Introduction: hip fractures are a frequent and serious complication in elderly people. There are multiple factors that are associated with hip fractures in the elderly, among which are the nutritional status and functionality of those affected. The nutritional status is partly conditioned by the aging process and the physical, mental, social and environmental changes associated with it. In the elderly population malnutrition is a problem of great relevance and can influence the prognosis associated with various pathological processes. The presence of nutritional alterations has been directly related to the functional state. Objective: to determine the previous functional and nutritional status, and its association with hip fracture in elderly people. Materials and methods: from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2016, 177 elderly patients with hip fracture who entered the orthogeriatric program of the San Ignacio University Hospital in Bogotá, Colombia, were studied. All patients were analyzed for functional and nutritional status two weeks prior to the event. Descriptive statistics and inferential analysis were used for association tests with x2. Results: 45.76% were independent for their basic daily life activities, and 54.23% had some degree of functional deterioration. 26.55% had malnutrition, 45.76% risk of malnutrition and 27.68% an adequate nutritional status. Of the patients with some degree of malnutrition (MNA <24), only 32.81% were functionally independent and 79.59% with adequate nutritional status were independent. The association between malnutrition and functional dependence was estimated with a PR = 3.94 (2.09-7.43 95% CI) with p = 0.00. Conclusion: nutritional and functional status are factors associated with hip fracture presentation.