Many diseases are frequently present in elderly and protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) is one of them. In Republic of Macedonia there is a little evidence about the nutritional problems in elderly. The aim of this study was to evaluate nutritional status of elderly in Republic of Macedonia. 540 elderly from three geriatric institutions and 613 free-living elderly were evaluated. Nutritional status was assessed with clinical evaluation (muscle strength, ADL and MNA-mini nutritional assessment protocol); biochemical and anthropometric parameters (stature; weight; BMI; skin-folds biceps, triceps, sub-scapular and abdomen; elbow diameter; upper muscle and fat area). Results shown that PEM was present in 40.8 % of elderly and 34.2 % were with risk of PEM. Significant risk factors of PEM were: dental problems, changes of appetite, present of diseases, difficulties in activity, older age and male sex (F=4.3; p<0.01). Male and female elderly with PEM show significantly lower values of upper muscle and fat area (male: 22.2 ± 5.7 and 7.4 ± 1.9 cm2; female: 23.5 ± 5.9 and 6.1 ± 1.4 cm2) according to elderly with risk of PEM (male: 33.4 ± 6.8 and 13.6 ± 5.2 cm2; female: 33.8 ± 6.4 and 12.0 ± 3.2 cm2, respectively). Conclusion: Our results show that nutritional status is a serious health problem of elderly in R Macedonia and there is a need of nutritional intervention in this population. .
