Baseline nutrition risk as measured by SCREEN-8 predicts self-reported 12-month healthcare service use of older adults 3 years later.

This study investigated whether nutrition risk, as measured by SCREEN-8 at baseline, was associated with self-reported healthcare service use in the past 12 months among community-dwelling older adults who were interviewed 3 years later. Data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging were used. SCREEN-8 assessed nutrition risk among community-dwelling persons ages 55+. Multivariable logistic regression determined if baseline SCREEN-8 score was associated with the following healthcare services reported to occur in the 12 months preceding the 3-year follow-up period: (i) overnight hospital admission (n = 13 623), (ii) emergency room visit (n = 13 614), (iii) contacting a family doctor (n = 13 616), (iv) visiting dental professional (n = 13 288), and (v) visiting a doctor due to an infection (n = 13 171) after adjusting for demographic and health variables. Those with higher SCREEN-8 scores (lower nutrition risk) had significantly lower odds of reporting: (i) an overnight hospital admission (χ² (27, 13 587) = 10.59,  p < 0.001); (ii) visiting a hospital emergency room (χ² (27, 13 578) = 9.64, p < 0.001); and (iii) visiting a doctor due to an infection (χ² (27, 13 135) = 10.32, p < 0.001) at 3-year follow-up. Less nutrition risk was significantly associated with higher odds of reporting visiting a dental professional (χ² (27, 13 252) = 17.88, p < 0.001). Baseline nutrition risk was not significantly associated with visiting a family doctor at the 3-year follow-up. SCREEN-8 predicted future self-reported 12-month healthcare service use among older adults in expected directions.