Assessment of Malnutrition in Community Chinese Elderly: A Hidden Problem in a Developed Society

Table 7

Median/frequency (%) among different age groups of the female participants.

	Median/frequency (%)			P value
	65–69	70–74	75 or above
𝑁	669	665	666
Education level				<.0001
No education	189 (28.25%)	259 (38.95%)	305 (45.8%)
Primary or below	334 (49.93%)	290 (43.61%)	279 (41.89%)
Secondary or above	146 (21.82%)	116 (17.44%)	82 (12.31%)
Single, divorced, or widowed	187 (27.95%)	273 (41.05%)	471 (70.72%)	<.0001
Living alone	66 (9.87%)	92 (13.83%)	183 (27.48%)	<.0001
Housewife	48 (7.17%)	60 (9.02%)	98 (14.71%)	<.0001
Weight	55.00	54.90	52.35	<.0001
Height	152.40	151.00	149.70	<.0001
BMI	23.61	24.15	23.34	<.0001
Nutrient per day
Vitamin A (𝜇g)	952.94	931.52	869.95	0.0049
Vitamin B1 (mg)	0.81	0.78	0.73	0.0898
Vitamin B2 (mg)	0.86	0.84	0.78	0.0013
Vitamin B3/niacin (mg)	11.26	10.48	10.05	<.0001
Vitamin C (mg)	143.18	140.12	139.28	0.5009
Vitamin D (𝜇g)	0.16	0.18	0.24	0.0113
Calcium (mg)	545.03	543.82	495.06	0.0021
Phosphorous (mg)	937.45	900.81	842.84	0.0003
Iron (mg)	12.16	11.62	11.09	0.0001
Zinc (mg)	7.60	7.54	6.99	0.0003
Iodine (𝜇g)	0.36	0.39	0.32	0.1767
Copper (𝜇g)	0.09	0.07	0.06	<.0001
Total energy (Kcal)	1,550.90	1,497.26	1,463.53	0.0002
Protein (g)	63.30	60.91	56.74	<.0001
Protein (g)/body weight (kg)	1.15	1.13	1.08	0.1801
Protein % of total energy	16.18	16.01	15.64	0.0023
Carbohydrate (g)	221.86	217.75	213.27	0.0471
Fruit (g)	225.07	205.63	210.87	0.0897
Vegetable (g)	220.46	211.91	192.34	<.0001
Meat (g)	108.15	107.55	97.20	0.0004
Fibre (g)	8.32	8.02	7.56	0.0042
Cholesterol (mg)	137.10	136.95	128.93	0.0058
Fat % of total energy	27.09	27.16	26.10	0.1161
Saturated fatty acid % of total energy	5.91	6.04	5.82	0.3437
Monounsaturated fatty acid % of total energy	10.03	9.84	9.76	0.0499
Polyunsaturated fatty acid % of total energy	6.90	6.91	7.04	0.6163