Evaluation of the Iranian Mini Nutritional Assessment Short-Form in Community-dwelling Elderly

Background: This study was aimed to assess agreement and diagnostic accuracy of the Iranian version of Mini Nutritional Assessment short-form (MNA-SF) against the original MNA, as a gold standard in community-dwelling elderly.

Methods: The full MNA and 9-item MNA-SF comprising questions regarding clinical status, dietary assessment and self-perception of health status and nutri-tion together with mid-arm and calf circumference measurements without in-cluding the body mass index (BMI) were completed for 205 volunteers aged 65 or older recruited from all over Markazi Province (Iran). Correlation, diagnostic accuracy and agreement between the MNA-SF and full MNA were calculated.

Results: The MNA and the MNA-SF classified 45.4% and 64.4% of the sub-jects as malnourished or at risk of malnutrition, respectively. Substantial agree-ment between the MNA-SF and full MNA was observed (Kappa=0.633). The MNA-SF correlated strongly with the full MNA (r=0.868, P<0.001). The MNA-SF showed high sensitivity (96.77%) and negative predictive values (95.89%), relatively high specificity (62.5%) and positive predictive values (68.18%) and fair accuracy (Area under curve =0.796).

Conclusion: Iranian MNA-SF seems to be an applicable screening tool for quick detection of malnutrition or at risk of malnutrition in community-dwelling elderly especially when BMI is unavailable.