Prevalence of Malnutrition in Hospitalized Elderly Korean Patients Based on Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of malnutrition in hospitalized elderly Korean patients using Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF) in Korea. Methods: A cross-sectional, multi-center study was performed. We enrolled 300 patients aged ≥65 years from 10 hospitals. We collected subjects’ general characteristics, including age, sex, height, weight, and diagnosis. Patients’ nutritional status was assessed using MNA-SF within 48 hours since hospital admission. Results: The subjects were 74.2±6.3 years old, and 155 patients were male (51.7%). Cancer was the most common diagnosis (26.3%), followed by musculoskeletal (11.3%), neuromuscular (10.3%), pulmonary (9.0%), and cardiovascular disease (8.7%). The length of hospital stay was 8.7±5.9 days. According to MNA-SF, 99 patients (33.0%) were at risk of malnutrition, and 51 patients (17.0%) were malnourished. MNA-SF score showed negative correlations with age (r=−0.259, P<0.001) and hospital stay (r=−0.168, P=0.006). Patients in the malnourished or at risk of malnutrition groups were more likely to be admitted to and stayed longer in the intensive care unit (ICU) than those of normal nutritional status (8.7% vs. 17.3%, P=0.026; 1.6±1.0 days vs. 3.7±3.2 days, P=0.033). The patients who were malnourished or at risk of malnutrition were hospitalized significantly longer than those of normal nutritional status (9.8±6.2 vs. 7.7.±5.4 days, P=0.004). After adjusting for age and ICU admission, nutritional status by MNA-SF was the only risk factor for prolonged hospitalization (β=1.384, P=0.005). Conclusion: About half of hospitalized elderly patients were at risk of malnutrition or malnutrition status at admission, and nutritional status was the only risk factor for longer hospital stay. Thus, more attention should be paid to the nutritional care of elderly patients to improve clinical outcomes.