PREVALENCE OF MALNUTRITION IN NONSURGICAL HOSPITALIZED-PATIENTS AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH DISEASE COMPLICATIONS

The prevalence of malnutrition and its predictive value for the incide nce of complications were determined in 155 patients hospitalized for internal or gastrointestinal diseases. At admission, 45% of the patien ts were malnourished according to the Subjective Global Assessment (ph ysical examination plus questionnaire), 57% according to the Nutrition al Risk Index [(1.5 X albumin) + (41.7 X present/usual weight)], and 6 2% according to the Maastricht Index [(20.68 - (0.24 X albumin) - (19. 21 X transthyretin (prealbumin) - (1.86 X lymphocytes) - (0.04 X ideal weight)]. Crude odds ratios for the incidence of any complication in malnourished compared with well-nourished patients during hospitalizat ion were 2.7 (954% CI: 1.4, 5.3) for the Subjective Global Assessment, 2.8 (1.5, 5.5) for the Nutritional Risk Index, and 3.1 (1.5, 6.4) for the Maastricht Index. Odds ratios were reduced to 1.7 (0.8, 3.6), 1.6 (0.7, 3.3), and 2.4 (1.1, 5.4), respectively, after a multivariate an alysis that included disease category and disease severity. Because th e confounding factors adjusted for are not only a measure of the sever ity of the disease but may also be influenced by malnutrition itself, the actual risk for complications due to malnutrition could be higher than the adjusted odds ratios. In conclusion, malnutrition was frequen t in patients with gastrointestinal disease and other internal disease s at the time of admission. The severity of malnutrition in the patien ts predicted the occurrence of complications during their hospital sta y and this association was not completely explained by confounding fac tors.