Nutrition status of hospitalized patients in the first decade of Chinese nutritionDay survey: Assessment using the ESPEN and GLIM criteria.

Background and objectives: This study aimed to investigate nutritional status of hospitalized Chinese pa-tients according to the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) and the European Society of Clin-ical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) criteria and to identify the effects of nutritional characteristics and nutritional support on clinical good outcome.

Methods and study design: Inpatients participated in Chinese nutritionDay 2010-2020 surveys were included. Malnutrition was defined according to the ESPEN and GLIM criteria after being risk evaluated by Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST). Cumulative incidence curves were plotted for 30-day good outcomes in patients according to the ESPEN and GLIM criteria. Cox regression models were used to determine the factors associated with good outcomes in the univariate and multivariable analyses.

Results: The prevalence of malnutrition defined by the GLIM criteria (22.8%) was higher than that defined by the ESPEN criteria (16.2%). Patients with malnutrition defined by the ESPEN and GLIM criteria had a significantly prolonged median length of hospital stay (LOS) after nutritionDay compared with non-malnutrition patients (8 days vs. 6 days, p < 0.001). Inpatients defined as nutritionally at-risk by the MUST or malnutrition defined by the ESPEN criteria and the GLIM criteria, and patients with pre-operative conditions, decreased mobility, prolonged LOS over three weeks before nutritionDay, as well as those receiving nutritional support had a reduced chance of good outcome.

Conclusions: The patients with nutritional risk or malnutrition and those who received nutritional support were significantly associated with decreased good 30-day outcomes, highlighting the necessity for standardized nutrition training in the healthcare setting.