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Predictors of Dietary Intake in Ontario Seniors

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Abstract

This study determined the independent association of 24 risk factors with dietary intake in community-living seniors. The study sample was 5,073 seniors for whom complete data were available from the 1990 Ontario Health Survey. Risk factors were items completed on an interviewer-administered health questionnaire. Diet Score, Mean Adequacy Ratio and energy were the diet outcomes derived from a self-administered food frequency questionnaire. The independent association of risk factors with these diet outcomes was assessed with multiple linear regression analyses. Factors that were consistently and positively associated with diet outcomes included: education, income, social support, perceived health status, belief in the nutrition/health link, dependence in walking and vision. Factors that were consistently and negatively associated with diet outcomes included: chewing status, dentition, hearing, level of happiness and body mass index. These results provide a basis for the development of a screening tool for the identification of “at risk” subgroups of seniors.

Résumé

Cette étude visait à déterminer l’association indépendante de 24 facteurs de risque avec l’apport alimentaire chez des personnes âgées vivant en communauté. L’étude a porté sur un échantillon de 5 073 aînés dont l’ensemble des données provenait de l’Enquête sur la santé en Ontario de 1990. Les facteurs de risque étaient les éléments figurant sur un questionnaire administré par un interviewer. Les résultats diététiques, soit la note diététique, le rapport moyen de suffisance et l’apport énergétique, ont été obtenus à partir d’un questionnaire auto-administré sur la fréquence de consommation des aliments. L’association indépendante des facteurs de risque avec ces résultats diététiques a été évaluée à l’aide de multiples analyses par régression linéaire. Les facteurs qui sont apparus régulièrement et positivement associés aux résultats diététiques comprenaient: le niveau d’éducation, le niveau de revenu, le soutien social, la perception de l’état de santé, la conviction de l’existence d’un lien entre la nutrition et l’état de santé, l’autonomie de déplacement et la vision. Les facteurs qui sont apparus régulièrement et négativement associés aux résultats diététiques comprenaient: l’état de la mastication, la dentition, l’ouïe, le degré de bonheur et l’indice de masse corporelle. Ces résultats jettent les bases de la mise au point d’un outil de dépistage pour identifier les sous-groupes de personnes âgées «à risque».

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Canada

    Heather H. Keller RD, PhD (Assistant Professor) & Truls Østbye MD, MPH

  2. Brescia College, University of Western Ontario, Canada

    Elizabeth Bright-See RD, PhD

Authors
  1. Heather H. Keller RD, PhD
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  2. Truls Østbye MD, MPH
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  3. Elizabeth Bright-See RD, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Heather H. Keller RD, PhD.

Additional information

Research for this paper was supported by the Parkwood Hospital Foundation, London, Ontario and the Middlesex-London Seniors’ Independence Research program.

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Keller, H.H., Østbye, T. & Bright-See, E. Predictors of Dietary Intake in Ontario Seniors. Can J Public Health 88, 305–309 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03403895

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