Refrigerators give clues to health of older people

Research carried out by a team of Swiss medical doctors at the University Hospitals of Geneva recommends that nurses and care workers should check elderly people's refrigerators carefully to see whether they are vulnerable to illness.

The study published in the latest edition of the British medical journal “The Lancet” found that those older people with empty fridges were more likely to fall ill than those with well-stocked refrigerators.

The research examined 132 elderly patients with an average age of 81. These patients were receiving routine house calls after leaving hospital.

Each person’s fridge was assessed for its contents.

The fridges were classed into several categories: those with rotten food or products past their best before date and those which were bare or had less than three different items in them.

Thirteen elderly people or 10 per cent of those under observation had empty fridges, according to the study. Women were more likely than men to neglect their shopping round.

Those with empty fridges were found to be three times more at risk of being admitted to hospital than those who had stocked up.

Factors such as gender, body mass index or whether the person was on their own did not influence the risk factor, the Geneva Geriatrics team explained.

“This finding might suggest that an empty refrigerator is a sign of a clinically frail stage,” the authors of the report pointed out.

The doctors believe a lack of strength or of friends and family stopped people from being able to do their food shopping.

by Greg Morsbach