Large number of prescribed central nervous system drugs and younger age predict the use of more oral nutritional supplements units

Abstract

Rationale: NICE guidelines recommend the use of oral nutritional supplements (ONS) for patients at risk of malnutrition or who are already malnourished. Patients prescribed ONS should be reviewed every 3 months or every 6 months if they have longer term ONS requirements. Previous research in Ireland identified a large number of patients prescribed ONS for more than 6 months. High usage and public health service costs are associated with prescribing ONS yet data on determinants for high volume and long-term use is lacking. This study investigated the determinants of larger volumes of ONS use among a sample of long-term ONS users.