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The Prevalence of Undiagnosed Protein‐Calorie Undernutrition in a Population of Hospitalized Elderly Patients
Author(s) -
Mowé Morten,
Bøhmer Thomas
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1991.tb02874.x
Subject(s) - medicine , malnutrition , medical record , pediatrics , population , cross sectional study , protein calorie malnutrition , protein–energy malnutrition , environmental health , pathology
Objective : To determine the extent to which patients with objective signs of malnutrition had been diagnosed as such by physicians and the diagnosis documented in the medical record. Design : Cross‐sectional. Subjects : All non‐critically ill patients ( n = 121) aged 70 years or older admitted to an Oslo hospital during a 3‐week period. Methods : Compared problem list and other elements of the medical record with observations of height, weight, triceps skinfold, midarm circumference, and arm‐muscle circumference made on first weekday in hospital. Serum albumin available on 66 subjects. Main Results : Nine patients had weight/height ratios below 60% of normal, 16 patients between 60% and 75%, and 41 patients between 74% and 90% of normal. Of these 66 patients, only 24 were recognized as malnourished on admission, only five received nutritional support, and none was diagnosed as having malnutrition at the time of discharge. Conclusions : Malnutrition is underdiagnosed and under‐treated. The consequences of this are likely to be deleterious to health.