The intake of food and nutrient by the elderly with chronic disease in the Seoul area

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out in order to investigate the status of food and nutrient intakes depending on the types of chronic disease of the elderly at welfare centers in Seoul. The total number of subjects was 299 elderly over the age of 60 (82 men and 217 women); they were grouped by the disease status normal, cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes mellitus (DM) and arthritis patients groups. The dietary intakes were obtained by a 24-hour recall and analyzed by CAN-Pro 4.0; they were then compared with the dietary reference intakes for the Korean (KDRIs). In the results of anthropometric data according to chronic disease, the waist circumference of the normal group in males and females was lower than the other groups; in particular, the normal female group showed a lower level of waist-hip ratio, body mass index (BMI) and body fat % than those of the other groups. The arthritis group showed a higher intake of milk products than the other groups (p < 0.05); consequently, calcium intake was significantly higher than that of the other groups (p < 0.001). Vitamin A intake in the arthritis group was significantly higher than the intake in the normal and DM groups (p < 0.01). Normal and arthritis groups showed significantly higher intake of zinc and copper than the CVD group (p < 0.01). In general, about 80% of the subjects in this study revealed insufficient intakes of riboflavin, vitamin C, calcium, dietary fiber, vitamin D, biotin and potassium, compared with the estimated average requirement (EAR) or adequate intake (AI). However, sodium intake of all groups was higher than the AI of KDRIs. In conclusion, nutrient intake, according to the chronic disease, showed significant difference in some of the micronutrients, vitamin A, Ca, Zn and Cu. Therefore, we suggest that dietary guidelines, such as reducing the intake of salty foods and sweet drinks and increasing the intake of foods with sufficient calcium, vitamin D and vitamin C, are necessary to the improvement of eating habits for the elderly.