Lack of energy is highly prevalent in nursing homes, and residents who report feeling this way may be suffering from malnutrition, a new study from France finds. A full assessment may be in order when healthcare providers field such complaints, the authors say.
Participants included 570 residents in 13 French nursing homes with a mean age of 86 years. Investigators pulled data from the Incidence of Pneumonia and Related Consequences in Nursing Home Residents study. Lack of energy was measured using a question on the geriatric depression scale: “Did you feel full of energy during the past week?” Residents’ nutritional status was measured using the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short-Form (MNAS-F).
Fully 43% of participants reported that they lacked energy, 12% were malnourished and 57% were at risk of malnutrition. What’s more, malnutrition was significantly associated with lack of energy, according to Domenico Azzolino, Ph.D., of the University of Milan, Italy. Most notably, on the MNAS-F, a decrease in food intake, low mobility, and psychological stress or acute disease were individually associated with lack of energy, he and his colleagues reported.
“The presence of lack of energy and/or malnutrition should lead to the comprehensive assessment of the individual,” Azzolino and colleagues wrote. “A simple question exploring the possible lack of energy may provide useful information about the functional status of older individuals,” offering an entry to clinical intervention, they concluded.
