Assessment of hospital meals dedicated to diabetic patients. Divergencies between received meals, model menu and guidelines. HDMI- Hospital Diet Medical Investigation Study

Abstract

IntroductionIn Poland, it is estimated that more than 2 million individuals have diabetes. Intervening in modifiable risk factors can effectively prevent and delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. Previous reports claimed that the Polish healthcare system did not guarantee proper nutrition and nutritional education. This publication aimed to examine the dietary provisions for diabetic patients in Poland's hospitals and evaluate their compliance with the "Good Meal in the Hospital" guidelines.Material and methodsHospital workers were asked to fulfil the survey regarding hospital (degree of reference, number of beds in total and internal medicine unit, availability of diet dedicated to diabetic patient, performing nutritional education and presence of dietitian) and attach menus from meals received by patients from following 10 days. Then the menus were analyzed, compared to self-made model menu and “Dobry Posiłek w Szpitalu” (Good Meal in Hospital) guidelines.ResultsSeventy menus from seven hospitals were examined. Five hospitals met eight and two hospitals met seven out of thirteen criteria. The discrepancies particularly concerned excessive levels of saturated fatty acids and mono- and disaccharides, and insufficient amounts of legumes and fish in the hospital diets. Only four out of seven hospitals had a resident dietitian present.ConclusionsProviding meals containing typical nutritional errors representing the pattern of the Polish population during hospitalization may lead to potential post-discharge dietary errors. They might result in deterioration in glycemic regulation, lipid profiles, and heightened susceptibility to complications, including an elevated cardiovascular risk.