Micronutrient Deficient in Elderly Patient at General Reference Hospital of Niamey (Niger)

Introduction: Micronutrients are constituted of vitamins, minerals and trace elements, their deficiencies in patients’s elderly are responsible for disease or functional disability. Our purpose was to describe epidemiologic, sociodemographic and clinical aspect of micro nutrient deficiency in internal medicine and geriatrics department of the Niamey’s General Reference Hospital

Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study about 88 patients during 15 months from June 30, 2021 to September 31, 2022.
Results: A total of 88 patients, the average age was 78 years [65 – 100 years], the age group between 65 to 75 years was the most represented in 38.6% of cases with a female sex predominance in 53.4%. Frequent comorbidities were hypertension and diabetes with monotherapy each in majority. The denutrition rate was 36.3%. In patients who dosed the assay, there was a prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (22.7%) common in women, hyponatremia (45%) and hypocalcemia (23%). Mortality was about 17%. The loss of functional independence was about 40%. The frequent symptoms were digestive disorders in 45.4% , locomotor disorders in 63.6% and anorexia/asthenia in 77.2% of cases

Conclusion: The micronutrient deficit is represented by the deficit in minerals and vitamin D often associated with denutrition and functional disability.

Keywords: Micronutrient deficit, geriatric, prevalence, clinical, Niamey, HGR.