Hospital Malnutrition rates Alarmingly High, Experts Call for Systemic Screening
MADRID – A new push from healthcare associations is underway to address widespread, often undetected, malnutrition among hospitalized patients. Data reveals that one in four patients are at nutritional risk upon admission, a figure that climbs to 38% for elderly individuals, raising concerns about increased mortality, longer hospital stays, and higher healthcare costs.
Irene Boj, speaking for the association, emphasized the urgency: “We want raise awareness about the importance of systematically integrate nutritional screening, from primary care to hospital care.”
The call for action comes as experts highlight significant challenges in preventing and treating disease-related malnutrition. Key recommendations include implementing standardized detection protocols,establishing early warning systems,and integrating nutrition into broader health policies. Furthermore, the association stresses the need to incorporate nutritional care as a core component of patient treatment and to foster collaborative, multiprofessional teams for extensive evaluation.
A promising avenue for intervention gaining traction is oral nutritional supplementation. Clinical trials demonstrate its effectiveness in reducing mortality, shortening hospital stays, lowering readmission rates, and decreasing overall treatment costs for malnourished patients. Experts support its use, citing “a strong degree of suggestion in clinical practice guidelines” and positive cost-effectiveness analyses.
