Nutritional Status and Covariates Among the Functionally Dependent Older People of the Indigenous Communities in India

The present study aimed at investigating the nutritional state of functionally dependent older adults belonging to the indigenous communities (i.e., tribal communities) in West Bengal, India, and its association with other covariates. The nutritional state of older adults was measured using the MNA tool. Results indicated that those individuals with poor functional capacity had 6.52 times [AOR:6.52; CI:1.55,27.41] and 8.53 times [AOR:8.53; CI:2.53,28.84] higher chances of being malnourished or at risk of being malnourished, respectively. Older adults with multiple chronic illnesses, poor self-perceived health status, experiencing depression, and consuming alcohol were significantly more likely to suffer from malnutrition. Respondents who were aged 80 years and older, female and widowed, or having poor family income were more likely to have malnutrition than their counterparts. The study concluded that functionally dependent older adults in indigenous communities are vulnerable to being malnourished and suggested a policy intervention in the form of appropriate nutritional programmes for improving the worsening condition of such older people in India.