Prevalence of nutritional risk and malnutrition established in outpatient, institutionalized and hospitalized populations in a health department

Abstract

The prevalence of disease-related malnutrition depends on the population studied and the methods used for screening, for nutritional assessment and the diagnostic criteria employed. To determine the prevalence of nutritional risk and malnutrition, and the type and degree of malnutrition in outpatient, hospitalized and institutionalized populations in a health department. Cross-sectional and descriptive study with a randomly selected sample. Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) was performed as a screening test to assess nutritional risk, and a complete nutritional assessment was carried out according to the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) criteria. The type and degree of malnutrition was determined according to the SENPE-SEDOM consensus criteria. MUST revealed a prevalence of nutritional risk of 28% (215) (outpatients n = 106: 15.1% [16]; institutionalized patients n = 375: 31.2% [117]; hospitalized patients n = 285: 28.8% [82]). The overall prevalence of disease-related malnutrition was 26.4% (202) (outpatients n = 106: 2.8% [3]; institutionalized patients n = 375: 30.13% [113]; hospitalized patients n = 285: 30.2% [86]). Prevalence was highest amongst patients older than 75 years (74.3%). Malnutrition of a caloric type and a mild degree was the most common in the whole sample (18% and 12.9%, respectively). One in four patients in the analyzed sample is malnourished. Disease-related malnutrition is especially prevalent in inpatients and in the elderly, affecting one in three patients. In light of this prevalence, it is essential to put in place nutritional screening procedures associated with therapeutic action plans.