A prospective study of nutritional status in elderly inpatients with neurological disease

Abstract

Objective To investigate the nutritional status in elderly inpatients with neurological disease and assess the clinical outcome of patients in different nutritional status. Methods Patients in Department of Neurology and Department of Geriatrics of Beijing Hospital aged ≥65 years and with neurological disease were enrolled in a prospective study during April 1st to May 31st, 2012. Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF) was used to assess the nutritional status of the patients. Clinical outcomes of patients in different nutritional status were described. Results 1 480 elderly patients with neurological diseases were involved in this study, aged (74.86±5.77)year, with mean body mass index (BMI) of (23.39±3.01)kg/m2, grip strength of dominant hand (16.92±13.44)kg, mid-upper limb circumference of (25.86±2.99)cm, calf circumference of (32.19±3.02)cm. The grip strength declined with age. 1 405 (94.9%) of these patients completed the MNA-SF, 13.88% of whom were malnourished, 37.51% were at risk of malnutrition. The prevalence of malnutrition and risk of malnutrition increased with age. Malnutrition was associated with higher mortality, prolonged hospital stay and increased total hospital expenditure. Conclusions Elderly inpatients with neurological disease have a high prevalence of malnutrition and risk of malnutrition, which may be associated with worse clinical outcomes. More attention should be paid to nutritional status assessment and intervention during hospitalization. Key words: Elderly; Inpatients; Nervous system diseases; Malnutrition; Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form; Clinical outcomes