Vision impairment is a risk factor for malnutrition in older long-term care residents.

Purpose To examine how vision is associated with nutritional status in long-term residents Methods A random sample of 17 assisted-living facilities and nursing home including 2513 permanent long-term care residents (age ≥ 65 years) were examined by trained nurses about various health-related aspects. Nutritional status was assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) long version and vision was estimated using a question from 15D-health-related quality of life questionnaire. Results 18% of the participants were characterised of having vision impairment. Vision impairment was an independent predictor of residents’ malnutrition (OR 1.62, 95% [1.22, 2.15], p < .001). Chewing problems (OR 2.78, 95% [2.18, 3.55], p < .001) and CDR memory item (OR 2.20, 95% [1.68, 2.87], p < 0.001) were also associated with malnutrition. Conclusion Vision impairment was associated with malnutrition, problems with oral health and poorer cognition, thus vision impairment should be considered as a risk factor for malnutrition in this vulnerable population.