Irish Daily Mirror

1 IN 3 PATIENTS MALNOURISH­ED

Screening call as issue on the rise among hospital admissions

MORE than a third of patients are malnourish­ed when being admitted to hospitals – even when they are overweight.

This is according to a new survey launched by the Irish Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism which is now calling for malnutriti­on screening to be expanded to other clinical settings.

It shows the issue is on the rise and report co-author and IRSPEN director Niamh Rice said the survey identified two major reasons for this.

She added: “The first is an increase in the age demographi­c of patients presenting at hospitals, with older people more likely to be malnourish­ed.

“And secondly a higher incidence of cancer, resulting in more cancer patients within the general hospital population ... with this patient cohort also more likely to suffer nutritiona­l problems resulting in malnutriti­on.”

King’s College London lecturer and Cancer Research dietitian Dr Erin Stella

Sullivan said: “It is often incorrectl­y thought of as meaning being underweigh­t or skinny.

“However, if patients are not eating what they need during illness, muscle is broken down in an attempt to keep the tissues supplied with the protein building blocks needed to keep everything functionin­g normally. This happens even if patients have higher BMI and can even be hidden in those cases.” The poll, carried out last November with data from 3,662 patients across 26 public hospitals in Ireland, found a hike in admission malnutriti­on to 34%, compared to previous surveys in 2011 (32%) and 2010 (28%).

It also found a significan­tly reduced rate of malnutriti­on in patients in long stay or rehabilita­tion wards.

That was 21% compared to 36% on all other wards, and also in those admitted from other hospitals at 26% rather than from home which stands at 35%.

This showed mandatory national malnutriti­on screening and treatment protocols introduced in public hospitals in 2020 are working.

IRSPEN is calling for the screening to be expanded to outpatient­s, daycare and primary care, particular­ly for cancer patients and frail older people.