Kanaparthi, Kiran PrakashAnga, Venkata Suresh2020-05-062020-05-062020-03Kanaparthi Kiran PrakashAnga Venkata Suresh. A study on nutritional status of elderly and association with morbidity in a rural village of Andhra Pradesh, India. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health. 2020 Mar; 7(3): 1055-10602394-60322394-6040http://imsear.searo.who.int/handle/123456789/202006Background: Aging is a universal process. Individual ageing is influenced primarily by a person’s genetic makeup, lifestyle and environmental factors. Among the various environmental factors that modulate ageing, nutrition plays a significant role. Objectives of the study was to assess the nutritional status of the elderly residing in a rural community and incidence of morbidity among them and to identify risk factors for the occurrence of morbidity among the elderly and suggest possible strategies for intervention.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on elderly people residing in Pedautapalli village.Results: Comparison between energy, protein and fat intakes and socioeconomic status is found to be significant. The most common complaint was that of musculo-skeletal pain (29.9%) followed by visual problems (25.2%) and joint pains (17.2%). 20 (47.6%) males and 28 (62.2%) females were deficient in energy, 22 (52.3%) males and 33 (73.3%) females were deficient in protein, p=0.043, and 7 (16.6%) males and 10 (22.2%) were deficient in fat. Counting all the episodes of morbid conditions, the incidence of morbidity was 262.9 episodes per 100 person years. In the undernourished group (BMI<18.5, n=22) it was 213.6 episodes per 100 person years and in the others (normal and overweight, BMI≥25, n=40) the incidence rate was 240 episodes per 100 person years. The relative risk was 0.89.Conclusions: It was concluded that there was no association between nutritional status and the incidence of morbidity in the study population.Elderly peopleMorbidity levelsNutrition statusJournal ArticleIndiaDepartment of Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Mahbubnagar, Telangana, IndiaDepartment of Community Medicine, NRI Institute of Medical Sciences, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India