Abstract
This is a retrospective study of data from clinical practice to observe the effect of a high-calorie, high-protein oral nutritional supplement (ONS) with β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB) on nutritional status, body weight, and muscle-related parameters in 283 adult patients with or at risk of malnutrition under standard of care, 63% being cancer patients. They were recommended to increase physical activity and energy and protein intake from regular diet plus two servings per day of a specialized ONS enriched with HMB or standard ONS for up to 6 months. Dietary records, adherence and tolerance to ONS, nutritional status, body composition, handgrip strength, and blood analysis at the beginning and the end of the intervention were recorded. This program improved nutritional status from 100% malnourished or at risk of malnutrition at baseline to 80% well-nourished at final visit. It also increased body weight by 3.6–3.8 kg, fat-free mass by 0.9 to 1.3 kg, and handgrip strength by 4.7 to 6.2 kg. In a subgroup of patients (n = 43), phase angle (PhA), and body cell mass (BCM) increased only in the patients receiving the ONS enriched with HMB (0.95 (0.13) vs. −0.36 (0.4), and 2.98 (0.5) vs. −0.6 (1.5) kg, mean difference (SE) from baseline for PhA and BCM, respectively), suggesting the potential efficacy of this supplement on muscle health.
Highlights
Malnutrition is an increasingly prevalent condition in healthcare, which has a profound impact on patients’ clinical and functional outcomes
Pourhassan et al [4] demonstrated that malnutrition according to the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria was significantly and independently associated with acute muscle wasting measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in frail older patients during 14 day hospitalization
Of the 312 patients that were included in the study, 25 had missing data for intake at the end of the study and 4 did not take the supplement, so they were excluded for analysis
Summary
Malnutrition is an increasingly prevalent condition in healthcare, which has a profound impact on patients’ clinical and functional outcomes. Pourhassan et al [4] demonstrated that malnutrition according to the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria was significantly and independently associated with acute muscle wasting measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in frail older patients during 14 day hospitalization. These findings are remarkable and suggest that, ideally, identifying and treating malnutrition should have a focus on trying to maintain or prevent muscle mass and function loss [5]
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