Caregiver's education level, not income, as determining factor of dietary intake and nutritional status of individuals cared for at home.

INTRODUCTION: Home care should intervene in the nutritional status of the elderly. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the nutritional status of the elderly assisted by a Home Care Program (PAD) and associate it with income and education level of the caregiver. CASUISTIC AND METHOD: Thirty-four individuals of both genders who received home care from PAD. The MNA (Mini Nutritional Assessment) was used along with arm circumference. Dietary intake assessment was done with three 24-hour recalls in non-consecutive days. We collected data on income, education level of the caregiver and user in years of formal education and autonomy of user. The differences between the proportions of the nominal variables were tested by the chi-square test. The continuous variables were tested for normality and if normal, the Student's t-test or ANOVA was applied. The adopted significance level was P < 0.05. RESULTS: The studied sample represented individuals older than 65 years, assisted by PAD and 100% dependent on the caregiver. MNA revealed that 38.2% of the users were malnourished and 61.8% were at risk for malnourishment. Energy, fiber, vitamin E, calcium and zinc intakes were inadequate. Education level of the caregivers was a determining factor (P=0.01) for the nutritional status of the elderly while no association was found with respect to income. CONCLUSION: These findings allows us to conclude that the nutritional status of this population is worrisome and that it may be associated with low quality of life influenced by the education level of the caregiver, but also by age, economic conditions and limited autonomy of this population.

[Comparative analysis of nutritional status, food intake and length of hospitalization considering two hospitals: public versus private]. / Comparación del estado nutricional, consumo alimenticio y tiempo de hospitalización de pacientes de dos hospitales, uno público y otro privado.

INTRODUCTION: To assess the nutritional status of hospitalized patients is important for the prevention of hospital malnutrition and planning of nutritional intervention. OBJECTIVE: To comparatively analyze the nutritional status of patients admitted to two hospitals, one public and another private, caring for populations with different socioeconomic profiles. CASE STUDY AND METHODS: This was a prospective study and samples were collected from patients of two hospitals, one public (PUH) and another private (PRH), which respectively represent the underprivileged and the more affluent populations. The analysis considered 51 patients from the PUH, aged between 53.9 +/- 15.6 years and 51 from the PRH, aged between 55.0 +/- 13.9 years, paired and grouped according to the following diseases: neoplasia (n+25), digestive tract disorders (n+11) and others (n+15). The statistical analysis was made by means of the T-Student test to compare PUH and PRH variables with p < 0.05, as well as to compare different variables in the same hospital, with p < 0.05; p < 0.01; p < 0.005 and p < 0.001. RESULTS: There were no statistical differences when the variables evaluated in both hospitals were compared, except for the length of hospitalization of patients with digestive tract disorders, which was longer for HPR. Upon hospitalization, 21.0% and 17.6% presented a body mass index (BMI) indicative of malnutrition. The patients with neoplasias presented current weight (CW) lower than habitual weight (HW). Both the patients with neoplasias and those with digestive tract disorders presented insufficient energy consumption in the period before hospitalization (p < 0.05). A negative correlation was found between the length of hospitalization and the current weight/habitual weight ratio (r = 0.194, 0 < 0.05, n = 102) and BMI (r=-0.186, p < 0.05, n = 102), according to Pearson's coefficient. CONCLUSION: The similarity of nutritional conditions found points to similarity of nutritional status for patients of both institutions and reflects the changes in the nutritional status of the population. The nutritional intervention should consider the nutritional needs of the population assisted.