Malnutrition Among Hospitalized Adult Patients

Abstract

Hospital malnutrition, although well established, has remained underrecognized in health care settings. This study aimed at determining the prevalence and factors associated with hospital malnutrition in Lahore, Pakistan. A sample of 937 hospitalized patients was screened for malnutrition using a Subjective Global Assessment (SGA). More than half (59.4%) of the sample was found to be undernourished, of which 26.4% was severely malnourished (SGA-C). Age more than 60 years (odds ratio [OR] = 0.574, P < .05), comorbidities (OR = 1.388, P = .014), and specific disease conditions (cancer and renal diseases) (OR = 3.291; OR = 3.042, P < .05, respectively) increased the risk of undernourishment (SGA-B&C). High prevalence of disease-associated malnutrition among hospitalized patients urgently calls for preadmission screening.