Correlation Between Nutritional Status and Physical Performance With Uric Acid Levels in The Elderly

Abstract

Gout is a degenerative disease and often occurs in the elderly. One of the causes of gout is nutritional disorders, where someone with an excessive body mass index (BMI) tends to have a higher risk of developing gout than someone with a lower or normal BMI. Physical performance is also closely related to uric acid levels in the blood. This research is to determine the correlation between nutritional status and physical performance with uric acid levels in the elderly at the Social Service Center of Tresna Werdha of Budi Luhur Bantul, Yogyakarta. Research design was a correlational descriptive with a cross-sectional approach. The sampling technique was simple random sampling with a sample size of 47 respondents. The research instruments used the Body Mass Index (BMI), the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) questionnaire, and an easy-touch tool to check uric acid levels. Bivariate analysis uses Kendall's Tau test. There was a correlation between nutritional status and uric acid levels in the elderly with a p-value of 0.020 (< 0.05) with a low correlation (r value 0.326). There was a correlation between physical performance and uric acid levels in the elderly with a p-value of 0.027 (< 0.05) with a low correlation (r value 0.321). There was a significant correlation between nutritional status and physical performance with uric acid levels in the elderly with a correlation in the low category. Nurses can provide interventions such as exercise and uric acid checks regularly for the elderly so that the elderly's health status can be maintained.