Table 1.
Socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle characteristics, health status and dietary factors of the participants (n = 613)
| Mean (SD) / n (%) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All (n = 613) | Normal nutritional status (MNA ≥ 24) (n = 434) |
At risk or malnourished (MNA < 24) (n = 179) |
p-value | |
| Socio-demographic characteristics | ||||
| Age (years) * [range: 60–106] | 78.5 (7.4) | 78.5 (7.0) | 78.6 (8.1) | 0.838 |
| Sexa | ||||
| Male | 282 (46.0) | 203 (46.8) | 79 (44.1) | 0.551 |
| Female | 331 (54.0) | 231 (53.2) | 100 (55.9) | |
| Educational level | ||||
| No formal education | 188 (30.7) | 127 (29.3) | 61 (34.1) | 0.382 |
| Primary school | 258 (42.1) | 183 (42.2) | 75 (41.9) | |
| Secondary school or above | 167 (27.2) | 124 (28.6) | 43 (24.0) | |
| Employment status | ||||
| Retired | 580 (94.9) | 412 (94.9) | 168 (94.9) | 0.825 |
| Unemployed | 18 (2.9) | 12 (2.8) | 6 (3.4) | |
| Have part-time/full-time job | 13 (2.1) | 10 (2.3) | 3 (1.7) | |
| Monthly household income (HK$) | ||||
| < 6000 | 497 (81.1) | 352 (81.1) | 145 (81.0) | 0.992 |
| ≥ 6000 | 64 (10.4) | 45 (10.4) | 19 (10.6) | |
| Unsure | 49 (8.0) | 35 (8.1) | 14 (7.8) | |
| Number of missing | 3 (0.5) | 2 (0.5) | 1 (0.6) | |
| Received CSSA | ||||
| No | 247 (40.3) | 186 (42.9) | 61 (34.1) | 0.042 |
| Yes | 365 (59.5) | 247 (56.9) | 118 (65.9) | |
| Number of missing | 1 (0.2) | 1 (0.2) | 0 (0) | |
| Marital Status | ||||
| Single/divorced/separated/widowed | 328 (53.5) | 226 (52.1) | 102 (57.0) | 0.268 |
| Married/cohabited | 285 (46.5) | 208 (47.9) | 77 (43.0) | |
| Living alone | ||||
| No | 225 (36.7) | 157 (36.2) | 68 (38.0) | 0.672 |
| Yes | 388 (63.3) | 277 (63.8) | 111 (62.0) | |
| Lifestyle characteristics | ||||
| Smoking status | ||||
| Non-smoker | 451 (73.6) | 319 (73.5) | 132 (73.7) | 0.055 |
| Ex-smoker | 96 (15.7) | 75 (17.3) | 21 (11.7) | |
| Current smoker | 66 (10.8) | 40 (9.2) | 26 (14.5) | |
| Drinking status | ||||
| Non-drinker | 488 (79.6) | 343 (79.0) | 145 (81.0) | 0.721 |
| Ex-drinker | 68 (11.1) | 51 (11.8) | 17 (9.5) | |
| Current drinker | 57 (9.3) | 40 (9.2) | 17 (9.5) | |
| Level of physical activity (IPAQ-SF) | ||||
| Low | 82 (13.4) | 47 (10.8) | 35 (19.6) | 0.005 |
| Moderate | 339 (55.3) | 239 (55.1) | 100 (55.9) | |
| High | 180 (29.4) | 139 (32.0) | 41 (22.9) | |
| Number of missing | 12 (2.0) | 9 (2.1) | 3 (1.7) | |
| Health status | ||||
| Total CCI scoreb | ||||
| 0 | 302 (49.3) | 221 (50.9) | 81 (45.3) | 0.059 |
| 1 | 184 (30.0) | 134 (30.9) | 50 (27.9) | |
| 2 | 58 (9.5) | 34 (7.8) | 24 (13.4) | |
| ≥ 3 | 61 (10.0) | 38 (8.8) | 23 (12.8) | |
| Number of missing | 8 (1.3) | 7 (1.6) | 1 (0.6) | |
| Hearing ability | ||||
| Clear | 359 (58.6) | 273 (62.9) | 86 (48.0) | < 0.001 |
| Fair | 170 (27.7) | 116 (26.7) | 54 (30.2) | |
| Unclear | 84 (13.7) | 45 (10.4) | 39 (21.8) | |
| Visual ability | ||||
| Clear | 270 (44.0) | 218 (50.2) | 52 (29.1) | < 0.001 |
| Fair | 198 (32.3) | 135 (31.1) | 63 (35.2) | |
| Unclear | 145 (23.7) | 81 (18.7) | 64 (35.8) | |
| Use of denture | ||||
| No | 219 (35.7) | 160 (36.9) | 59 (33.0) | 0.373 |
| Yes | 392 (63.9) | 273 (62.9) | 119 (66.5) | |
| Number of missing | 2 (0.3) | 1 (0.2) | 1 (0.6) | |
| Difficulty in chewing food | ||||
| No | 374 (61.0) | 276 (63.6) | 98 (54.7) | 0.038 |
| Yes | 238 (38.8) | 157 (36.2) | 81 (45.3) | |
| Number of missing | 1 (0.2) | 1 (0.2) | 0 (0) | |
| Usual appetite | ||||
| Good | 338 (55.1) | 278 (64.1) | 60 (33.5) | < 0.001 |
| Normal | 241 (39.3) | 148 (34.1) | 93 (52.0) | |
| Bad | 34 (5.5) | 8 (1.8) | 26 (14.5) | |
| Dietary factors | ||||
| Below recommendation of the dietary guidelinesc: | ||||
| Grains (3 to 5 bowls per day) | 199 (32.5) | 127 (29.3) | 72 (40.2) | 0.008 |
| Vegetables (at least 3 servings per day) | 508 (82.9) | 351 (80.9) | 157 (87.7) | 0.041 |
| Fruits (at least 2 servings per day) | 447 (72.9) | 303 (69.8) | 144 (80.4) | 0.007 |
| Meats (5 to 6 taels per day) | 572 (93.3) | 403 (92.9) | 169 (94.4) | 0.541 |
| Milk (1 to 2 glass per day) | 493 (80.4) | 352 (81.1) | 141 (78.8) | 0.473 |
| Usually cooking food myself | ||||
| No | 127 (20.7) | 84 (19.4) | 43 (24.0) | 0.202 |
| Yes | 481 (78.5) | 346 (79.7) | 135 (75.4) | |
| Number of missing | 5 (0.8) | 4 (0.9) | 1 (0.6) | |
| Dietary supplements consumption | ||||
| No | 386 (63.0) | 267 (61.5) | 119 (66.5) | 0.248 |
| Yes | 227 (37.0) | 167 (38.5) | 60 (33.5) | |
| Dietary behaviour | ||||
| Favour food group | ||||
| No preference | 54 (8.8) | 30 (6.9) | 24 (13.4) | 0.022 |
| Grains | 165 (26.9) | 108 (24.9) | 57 (31.8) | |
| Vegetables | 167 (27.2) | 128 (29.5) | 39 (21.8) | |
| Fruits | 70 (11.4) | 55 (12.7) | 15 (8.4) | |
| Meats | 146 (23.8) | 104 (24.0) | 42 (23.5) | |
| Others (milk or fat/salt/sugar) | 6 (1.0) | 4 (0.9) | 2 (1.1) | |
| Number of missing | 5 (0.8) | 5 (1.2) | 0 (0) | |
| Usual number of main meals skipped per day | ||||
| One or more | 106 (17.3) | 59 (13.6) | 47 (26.3) | < 0.001 |
| None | 507 (82.7) | 375 (86.4) | 132 (73.7) | |
| Preferred temperature of food and drink | ||||
| Warm | 365 (59.5) | 269 (62.0) | 96 (53.6) | 0.088 |
| Hot | 226 (36.9) | 148 (34.1) | 78 (43.6) | |
| Cold | 21 (3.4) | 16 (3.7) | 5 (2.8) | |
| Number of missing | 1 (0.2) | 1 (0.2) | 0 (0) | |
CCI Charlson comorbidity index, CSSA comprehensive social security assistance, HK$ Hong Kong dollar, IPAQ-SF the international physical activity questionnaire – short form
Data marked with * are presented as mean (standard deviation), all others are presented as frequency (%)
aSex distribution of the Hong Kong population aged 60 or above: males, 643,258 (47.6%); females, 707,438 (52.4%) [48]
bTotal score of Charlson comorbidity index was calculated by the summation of weighed scores of each presented condition of the individual
cThe dietary guidelines were based on the serving size recommendation in the Healthy Eating Food Pyramid for Elderly, developed by Department of Health, Hong Kong [47]. The five major food groups include grains (e.g. rice, noodles, starchy vegetables, bread and oat meals), vegetables (e.g. leafy vegetables, melon, mushroom), fruits (e.g. apple, banana, dried fruits), meats (e.g. beef, fish, egg) and milk (e.g. cow milk, yogurt, cheese) [47]. One bowl equals to 250-300 ml, one serving of vegetable equals to half bowl of cooked vegetables, one serving of fruit equals to one medium-sized fruit, one tael of meats equals to meats with the size of a table tennis ball and one glass equals to 240 ml [47].