Factors associated with poor appetite among residents at selected long-term care facilities in Selangor, Malaysia
Authors:   Department of Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine & Health Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia, Al-junid Duaa , Chan Yoke Mun ,   Department of Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine & Health Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia;,   Research Centre of Excellence Nutrition and Non-communicable Diseases, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Malaysia;,   Malaysian Research Institute on Ageing, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia, Adznam Siti Nur Asyura ,   Department of Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine & Health Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia;, Chin Yit Siew ,   Research Centre of Excellence Nutrition and Non-communicable Diseases, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Malaysia,   Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine & Health Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia, Mohd Shariff Zalilah ,   Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine & Health Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia, Lim Poh Ying ,   Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine & Health Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia, Shariff-Ghazali Sazlina ,   Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia, Rosli Tanti Irawati ,   Department of Family Oral Health, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Published: March 2024

Introduction: Poor appetite is prevalent among older adults and may negatively impact on their overall health. This is especially true for institutionalised residents. Despite this, there is a paucity of research on appetite and its associated factors among institutionalised residents, which signified the present study. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among elderly residents at long-term care facilities in the state of Selangor, Malaysia to ascertain their appetite status and its associated factors. Results: A total of 97 residents with mean age of 74.2±8.4 years old were recruited. They comprised 61.9% females and 38.1% males. More than 50% had poor appetite with early satiety. There were 63.0%, 82.4%, and 94.8% who had poor oral health, poor sleep quality, and depression, respectively. Ethnicity (OR=2.73; 95% CI=1.00-7.44; p=0.049) was the only factor that predicted poor appetite among older adults in long-term care facilities, with Malay residents having poorer appetite than their Chinese and Indian counterparts. Conclusion: The prevalence of poor appetite was high among residents staying at long-term care facilities in Selangor, Malaysia, especially among Malays. This issue deserves further studies to identify the specific underlying factors contributing to poor appetite among older adults from different ethnicities. Acknowledging the high prevalence of poor appetite among older adults and its possible unfavourable outcomes, appropriate nutrition interventions are therefore needed to address this issue among institutionalised elderly.