Relationship Between Nutritional Status and Immune Functions in Elderly Pakistani Men

Background: The elderly population is increasing worldwide, which warrants their nutritional status assessment more important. The present study was undertaken to establish the nutritional status of the least-studied elderly population in Pakistan. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with a sample of 526 generally healthy free-living elderly men (mean age: 68.9 yr; range: 50-98 yr) from Peshawar, Pakistan. Anthropometric measurements (weight, height, WC) were measured and BMI and WHR were calculated from these measurements following WHO standard procedures. Dietary intake was assessed by 24-hr dietary recall. Nutrients were calculated from the information on food intake. Nutrients in terms of % of RNI were calculated using WHO data on recommended intakes. Results: Based on BMI, the numbers of obese, overweight and underweight elderly were 13.1, 3.1 and 10.8%, respectively. Age was negatively and significantly correlated with BMI (p = 0.0028). Energy (p = 0.0564) and protein intake (p = 0.0776) tended to decrease with age. There was a significant increase in % BF with age (p = <0.0001). The normal weight elderly had significantly (p < 0.05) higher intake of all nutrients studied, except energy which was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in obese and overweight elderly. Overall, however, the majority of subjects had lower than adequate nutrient intake (67.3 100% of recommendation). Conclusions: Malnutrition is common in apparently healthy elderly Pakistani men. Very few elderly have adequate nutrient intake. Obese and overweight had higher % BF as compared to normal weight elderly. Older age is associated with changes not only in anthropometrics and body composition but also in intake of key nutrients like energy and protein. Background There has been a rapid increase in the number of elderly people in Pakistan [1] hence maintaining health and well-being of this age group is becoming even more important. Beside so many other health risks associated with old age, this population is potentially the most vulnerable group for malnutrition [2]. Poor dentition, neuropsychological problems and immobility in older age directly affect their nutritional status [3]. The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing [4], particularly in the elderly [5], where it is associated with increased mortality and a number of metabolic and cardiac disorders [6]. Overweight and obesity also contributes to functional decline and disability in the elderly [7]. At the same time, quite significant numbers of old individuals are reported to suffer from underweight and are at higher risk for acute illness and death [8]. They also have significantly higher risk of dying within the first year of hospitalization than those with adequate nutrition [9]. Weight loss has been shown to be associated with a higher risk of disability [10]. Decreased body Mass Index (BMI) is an indicator of chronic energy deficiency and malnutrition, and is associated with compromised immune function, increased * Correspondence: iftikharalam@aup.edu. pk Tübingen Aging and Tumour Immunology group, Sektion für Transplantationsimmunologie und Immunohämatologie, University of Tübingen, Zentrum für MedizinischeForschung, Waldhörnlestraße 22, 72072 Tübingen, Germany Full list of author information is available at the end of the article Alam et al. Nutrition Journal 2011, 10:111 http://www.nutritionj. com/content/10/1/111 © 2011 Alam et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.