Fatores associados à baixa qualidade da dieta em idosos do Estudo de Coorte de Envelhecimento de Bagé (SIGa-Bagé)

Abstract

This study has a cross-sectional design nested within the Bagé Aging Cohort Study (SIGa-Bagé), and its data come from the follow-up conducted between 2016 and 2017. Data was collected from 735 elderly individuals aged 68 or older, aiming to evaluate the factors associated with low-quality diet in this population. Low-quality diet was evaluated using the Elderly Diet Quality Index (IQD-I) based on food consumption frequency in the last week. The independent variables used in the study were: sex, age, skin color, marital status, living alone, education, per capita income, use of dental prostheses, problems or difficulties chewing or swallowing food, need for help to eat, need for help preparing meals, multimorbidity and depressive symptoms. A descriptive analysis was performed to characterize the sample, which included the calculation of prevalence. Poisson regression with robust variance estimates was used, with calculation of crude and adjusted prevalence ratios and their respective 95% confidence intervals. As main results, the following stand out: The Elderly Diet Quality Index had an average of 25.3 points, with a standard deviation (SD) of 3.7 points, median equal to 26 points, with 41.0% of the sample classified as having low-quality diet (£ 24 points). After adjustments, low-quality diet was associated with male gender, with black and brown skin color, and the presence of depressive symptoms, demonstrating the need for greater investment in strategies to promote mental health and good eating habits among the elderly population, especially among males and minority racial groups.