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. 2023 Jun 29;15(13):2966.
doi: 10.3390/nu15132966.

Poor Appetite in Frail Older Persons-A Systematic Review

Anna Rudzińska  1 , Karolina Piotrowicz  1 , Ian Perera  1 , Barbara Gryglewska  1 , Jerzy Gąsowski  1
Affiliations

Poor Appetite in Frail Older Persons-A Systematic Review

Anna Rudzińska et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Anorexia of aging is a common problem in older adults. Depending on the setting, its prevalence varies from about 10% (among community-dwelling older adults) to over 30% in acute wards and nursing homes. The objective of this systematic review was to establish the prevalence of poor appetite in frail persons ≥60 years of age. We performed a literature search for studies where the prevalence of anorexia of aging among frail and pre-frail old adults was reported. 957 articles on this topic were identified. After eligibility assessment, three articles were included in the review. The studies included 4657 community-dwelling older adults. The weighted total prevalence of anorexia of aging in all the included studies was 11.3%. Among frail and pre-frail participants, loss of appetite was reported in 20.5% (weighted estimate). Overall, robust status was associated with a 63% lower probability of concomitant anorexia of ageing (OR 0.37, 95%CI 0.21-0.65, p = 0.0005). Frailty or risk of frailty are associated with more prevalent anorexia of ageing. This has potential practical implications; however, more research, especially to elucidate the direction of the relation, is needed.

Keywords: anorexia of ageing; appetite; frailty; review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The PRISMA flowchart for the systematic review of anorexia of ageing in older adults with frailty.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Odds ratios of anorexia of ageing in robust versus frail and pre-frail older persons. Pooled analysis of cross-sectional data from three included studies [16,17,18].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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