Candy Y. Murillo^1,, Adolf Lim-Teodoro¹

Background: According to World health organization, 1 in 6 people worldwide will be aged 60 or older. The prevalence of malnutrition in the Filipino elderly population varies with different study population. Effective screening tools are essential for identifying the malnutrition and to those at risk. Objective: The study aimed to determine the validity of the Tagalog Version of Mini Nutritional Assessment–Short Form (MNA-SF) among Filipino elderly patient admitted in a tertiary medical center. Methods: This is a prospective, cross-sectional study among elderly Filipino patients aged 60 years and above. Tagalog version of MNA-SF and Long form (LF) scale were conducted. The diagnostic validity and reliability were determined using Cronbach’s alpha. Results: There are one hundred fifty-seven (157) respondents aged >60 years old included in the study. 91/157 (58%) and 94/157 (60%) were diagnosed with malnutrition using the MNA-SF and MNA-LF respectively. The prevalence of malnutrition is correlated with increasing age, lowest in the age group 60-69 years old using the MNA-SF & LF, with prevalence of 46% (37/80) and 44% (35/80) respectively, while age group of >80 years old has a prevalence of 96% (22/23) and 91% (21/23) respectively. MNA-SF garnered a Cronbach’s Alpha value of 0.933, interpreted as excellent or having a very reliable internal consistency. For the test of single measures between the MNA-SF and MNA-LF, it had a value of 0.874 which indicates almost perfect agreement. The test of average measures, also indicates almost perfect agreement with a value of 0.933. Conclusion: The prevalence of malnutrition among our elderly Filipino in acute care setting is high and the Tagalog version of MNA-SF is a validated screening tool for malnutrition in older Filipino adults. It can be easily implemented across various healthcare settings and those who tests positive for the condition should also receive individualized nutrition support.

Nutritional Assessment, elderly, malnutrition