Malnutrition screening tools as predictors of depression in community-dwelling older adults: A comparative analysis of MNA-SF, SCREEN II and GLIM

Background: Malnutrition and depression are common and interrelated conditions among community-dwelling older adults, leading to adverse health outcomes. This study aimed to compare the predictive value of Mini Nutritional Assessment–Short Form (MNA-SF), the Seniors in the Community: Risk Evaluation for Eating and Nutrition, version II (SCREEN II), and the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) in assessing depression risk among community-dwelling older adults. Methods: This cross sectional study was performed in community dwelling older adults. Nutritional status was assessed using the MNA-SF, SCREEN II, and GLIM criteria, and depression risk was evaluated by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Results: This study included 251 participants. The median age of participants was 62 years (IQR: 61–70), and 53.4% were female. After adjusting for age, gender, marital status, and employment status, all three nutritional tools were significantly associated with depression risk (MNA-SF: OR = 0.621 [95% CI: 0.523–0.736], p < 0.001; SCREEN II: OR = 0.920 [95% CI: 0.885–0.957], p < 0.001; GLIM: OR = 0.298 [95% CI: 0.141–0.629], p = 0.001). ROC analysis indicated that MNA-SF had the highest predictive accuracy (AUC: 0.765, p < 0.001), followed by SCREEN II (AUC: 0.700, p