Malnutrition in postacute geriatric care: Basic ESPEN diagnosis and etiology based diagnoses analyzed by length of stay, in-hospital mortality, and functional rehabilitation indexes.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the relationships between malnutrition and nutrition-related conditions according to the European Society of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) consensus and guidelines and clinical outcomes in postacute rehabilitation.

METHODS

Of 102 eligible inpatients, 95 (84.5 years old, 63.2% women) fulfilled inclusion criteria: aged ≥70 years, body mass index <30kg/m, admission for rehabilitation. Mini-Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF≤11) identified patients "at risk" and ESPEN basic and etiology based definitions were applied. Nutrition-related conditions (sarcopenia, frailty, overweight/obesity, micronutrient abnormalities) were determined. We assessed the relationship between these conditions and the clinical and rehabilitation outcomes (relative functional gain, rehabilitation efficiency) during hospitalization.

RESULTS

All patients were "at risk" by MNA-SF criteria and 31 reported unintentional weight loss >5% in the last year or 2-3kg in the last 6 months. Nineteen fulfilled the ESPEN basic definition, of which 10 had disease-related malnutrition with inflammation and 9 without inflammation, and 20 had cachexia. Sarcopenia (n=44), frailty (n=94), overweight/obesity (n=59), and micronutrient abnormalities (n=70) were frequent. Unintentional weight loss impaired all functional outcomes and increased length of stay [OR=6.04 (2.87-9.22); p<0.001]. In multivariate analysis, relationships between rehabilitation impact indices and the ESPEN basic and etiology-based definitions observed in univariate analysis persisted only (and marginally) for relative functional gain [OR=13.24 (0.96-181.95); p=0.005]. Infrequent in-hospital mortality prevented meaningful analysis of this outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

ESPEN basic and etiology-based definitions and nutrition related disorders were determined in postacute care. Malnutrition was associated with poor rehabilitation outcomes, mainly due to unintentional weight loss.