[Delayed hypersensitivity and its relationship with the nutritional status of older adult women].

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the relationship between cellular immune response, assessed through delayed hypersensitivity intradermal tests, and nutritional status in older adult women.

Methods: A correlational observational study was conducted on elderly women, without evidence of infection, with an average age of 69.2 ± 5.9 years. Nutritional status was assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) scale, and the in vivo cell-mediated immune response was measured through delayed hypersensitivity tests to various microbial antigens.

Results: A total of 36 older adult women were enrolled in the study. Of these, 83.3% had a normal nutritional status, while 16.7% were at risk of malnutrition, with an average MNA score of 25.6 ± 2.7. The intradermal reaction test at 48 hours, showed an induration greater than 5 mm in 58.3% for Gram-positive bacteria, 38.9% for tetanus/diphtheria, 66.7% for candidin, and 0% for Escherichia coli. A positive response to candidin was more frequent in women at risk of malnutrition (OR: 1.3: CI_95%: 1.1 - 1.7; p = 0.05). After 96 hours, a candidin induration greater than 7 mm showed an area under the ROC curve of 0.75 (CI_95%: 0.57 - 0.94; p = 0.05) for predicting the risk of malnutrition.

Conclusion: Older adult women with good nutritional status maintain an adequate cellular immune response, whereas those at risk of malnutrition exhibit greater reactivity to candidin, suggesting a possible immunological alteration associated with malnutrition.