DOI: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20261505.22 ISSN: 2327-2716

Nutritional Status and Its Associated Determinants Among Older Adults Living with Dementia in Homabay County, Kenya

Melon Odoyo, Peter Chege, Winfreda Nyamota
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Dementia is a growing public health concern among older adults, and its progression is closely linked to dietary practices and nutritional status. In Kenya, dementia research has largely focused on prevalence, risk factors and caregiving burden, with limited attention paid to dietary practices and nutritional status among affected older adults. This study assessed dietary practices, nutritional status and the factors associated with poor nutritional status among older adults living with dementia in Homabay County, Kenya. A cross-sectional study design was used, involving 191 older adults living with dementia attending Homabay County Referral Hospital, sampled using purposive and simple random sampling. A researcher administered questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics, dietary practices using a 24-hour dietary recall, Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) and Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), and nutritional status using Body Mass Index (BMI) and the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF). Data was analyzed using SPSS version 29, with chi-square, Pearson correlation and binary logistic regression used to test associations. The mean age of participants was 74.3 ± 8.2 years. Only 11.5% of participants had a high dietary diversity score, and 70.2% did not meet their daily energy requirements. MNA-SF assessment showed that 48.7% of participants were at risk of malnutrition and 19.4% were malnourished. Binary logistic regression identified low dietary diversity (AOR = 3.87, p < 0.001), inadequate meal frequency (AOR = 2.96, p = 0.003), low energy intake (AOR = 2.63, p = 0.007), dependence on own farm produce as the main food source (AOR = 2.14, p = 0.029), and low household income (AOR = 1.89, p = 0.043) as independent factors associated with poor nutritional status. These findings show that dietary practices are strongly linked to the nutritional status of older adults living with dementia in this setting. Nutrition interventions targeting dietary diversity, meal frequency and household food security are recommended to improve the nutritional wellbeing of this vulnerable population.

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