As many as half of all patients admitted to hospital and other health care facilities are malnourished. This has serious consequences for the individual in terms of unnecessary suffering, poorer quality of life and mortality. Providing nutrients can alleviate these problems, but not enough attention is paid to this knowledge.
This is the conclusion of an article by researchers from Uppsala University and the University of Gothenburg published in the New England Journal of Medicine . "Far too few patients are diagnosed with malnutrition. Underdiagnosis and undertreatment of the condition remains a problem in health care and elderly care, not only in Sweden but worldwide.
However, by using fairly simple methods, patients and older adults could be made to feel much better," says Tommy Cederholm, professor of clinical nutrition at Uppsala University. Together with Ingvar Bosaeus, a consultant at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Cederholm is co-author of the review article on undernourishment. The article summarizes the global state of knowledge over the last 50 years, with the emphasis on developments over the last five years, concluding that the health care sector needs to make much greater use of the experience and knowledge revealed in the research.
It is estimated that between 5 and 10% of all older adults in Sweden are malnourished. This figure rises to up to 50% of patients being cared for in hospitals, nursing homes or similar facilities. Weight loss and malnutrition have .