Abstract
Background
Underweight in the older adults is associated with various behaviors and health conditions, and information on its prevalence is little available in the literature. The different cutoff points used as well as the age definition of this population make comparisons difficult.
Objective
To estimate the prevalence of underweight in older adults for all Brazilian state capitals, the Federal District, and regions considering different age groups and cutoff points for Body Mass Index (BMI).
Method
We used data from the Vigitel Brasil 2015 telephone survey for older adults aged ≥60 (n=18,726) and ≥65 years (n=13,349). We estimated the prevalence rates and respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for BMI values <18.5, ≤22.0 and ≤23.0 kg/m2.
Results
For Brazilian older adults aged ≥60 years, the underweight prevalence rates for cutoff points <18.5, ≤22.0 and ≤23.0 kg/m2 were 2.6, 14.7 and 21.7%, respectively. Among those aged ≥65 years, prevalence rates of 3.5, 16.1 and 22.9% were observed for these cutoff points.
Conclusion
The underweight prevalence rates were similar for each age group regardless of the criterion considered; however, they differed significantly depending on the cutoff point used for BMI classification.
Keywords:
older adults; body mass index; body weight; prevalence; health survey