Exploring the rates of malnutrition risk and related factors among inpatients

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Aim: The purpose of the study was to reveal the rates of malnutrition risk among inpatients, to determine those who were not malnourished but became iatrogenically-malnourished, and to identify whether malnutrition was prevented or alleviated among how many patients following enteral/parenteral nutrition.
 Materials and Method: We carried out the study with 349 patients hospitalized in internal and surgical medicine wards between March 01-31, 2017 (1 month) at the Medical Faculty Hospital of Kırıkkale University. The data of this descriptive research was gathered using the NRS-2002 test administered at initial admission and in the first and second weeks (for malnutrition screening) and a demographic information form inquiring about patients’ demographic characteristics, chronic illnesses, medication, and malignancy status.
 Findings: The findings revealed the mean age of the patients was 60.1±15.5 years and that 54.4% were males. While 75.1% were hospitalized in internal medicine wards, 24.9% received inpatient treatment in surgical medicine wards. About one-fourth of the patients (24.4%) had malnutrition at first admission: 28.6% in internal medicine wards and 11.5% in surgical medicine wards (p = 0.001). Besides, %34.9 of the geriatric group and %16.7 of the non-geriatric group had malnutrition risk, and the difference between the groups was significant (p<0.001). Moreover, there was a significant difference between the male and female patients by malnutrition risk (32.1% vs. 15.1%; p<0.001). The patients in internal medicine and pulmonology wards had significantly increased rates of malnutrition risk in the first week (p = 0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). Yet, the second-week evaluations among the patients in these wards and the first-week and second-week evaluations among those in other wards yielded no significant increase in their malnutrition risk.
 Conclusion: Overall, the NRS-2002 test revealed considerably high rates of malnutrition risk among the participating inpatients. The risk was found to be significantly higher in the males, geriatric patients, patients with malignancy, and patients in internal medicine wards when compared to the females, non-geriatric patients, patients without malignancy, and patients in pulmonology wards, respectively. Besides, the rates of malnutrition risk significantly increased among the patients in internal medicine and pulmonology wards at the end of the first week. Considering the excess rates of malnutrition risk in the present findings, prioritizing malnutrition risk assessment among all patients admitted may be a simple but effective solution to prevent malnutrition from hindering relevant therapies.