Hospital malnutrition and its consequences

Nutrition is one of the basic functions of the human body. The shortage of food, as well as lack of oxygen or water, leads to death, however, it takes longer to cause death. Prolonged hunger or excessive intensity of metabolic processes may lead to the state known as malnutrition. It is characterized by the decrease of immunity and increased susceptibility to diseases which consequently may also cause the increase of mortality. Malnutrition is now a public health problem in both developed and developing countries. Hospital malnutrition is a widespread phenomenon which encourages the development of complications as well as results in prolonged hospitalization and the increase of the treatment costs. The consequences of malnutrition affect all the organs and systems, including human psychomotor abilities. The main purpose of screening the nutritional conditions is to assess the nutritional status of patients who appear to be at risk of malnutrition at the early stadium. It, secondarily, also aims at identifying patients with specific indications for nutritional therapy.