Nutritional status and associated factors of older persons in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review

Paul Obeng; Henneh Kwaku Kyereh; Jacob Owusu Sarfo; Edward Wilson Ansah; Priscilla Yeye Adumoah Attafuah

doi:10.1186/s12877-022-03062-y

Nutritional status and associated factors of older persons in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review

BMC Geriatr. 2022 May 11;22(1):416. doi: 10.1186/s12877-022-03062-y.

Authors

Paul Obeng¹, Henneh Kwaku Kyereh¹, Jacob Owusu Sarfo¹, Edward Wilson Ansah¹, Priscilla Yeye Adumoah Attafuah²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
² School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana. pyaattafuah@ug.edu.gh.

Abstract

Background: The older person population is rapidly increasing globally, including sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Concurrently, malnutrition is also increasing among older persons in SSA, with a dearth of empirical evidence on nutritional status and associated factors among the older persons in the region to inform effective interventions to promote healthy ageing.

Aim/objective: This review assessed the nutritional status and associated factors among older persons in SSA.

Method: PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library electronic databases were searched for published articles from 2010 to 2021 using keywords and Boolean logic. Also, we carried out a free web-based search to retrieve other relevant evidence that assesses the older persons' nutritional status. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow chart was used to appraise the research articles that responded to the study's research questions.

Findings: Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria, from which data were extracted as findings. The malnutrition prevalence was between 6 to 54% among older persons in SSA. We found that the prevalence of malnutrition vary and could be as high as 28.4% in a low socio-economic status area. Of these studies, twelve (12) provided data on undernutrition with prevalence ranging from 2.9 to 41%;10 provided data on overweight (8.1-54.1%) and 5 on obesity (2.7-44.7%). Seventeen of the studies evaluated factors associated with malnutrition; 4 studies revealed the association between socioeconomic status and malnutrition, 7 studies reported a significant association between dietary habits and malnutrition. Four studies showed an association between educational status and malnutrition. Disease conditions associated with malnutrition were reported in four of the studies.

Conclusion: This review shows that malnutrition is a problem among older persons in SSA coupled with many risk factors which should be given critical attention. We recommend nutrition education for older persons as well as the development of nutrition interventions for this vulnerable group.

Keywords: Aged; Nutritional status; Older persons; Sub-Saharan Africa.

Publication types

Review
Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Humans
Malnutrition* / diagnosis
Malnutrition* / epidemiology
Nutritional Status*
Obesity
Risk Factors
Social Class