The Urgent Need for Nutritional Medical Care in Geriatric Patients-Malnutrition in Nursing Homes

Patients aged 65 and over who are accommodated in hospitals and nursing homes are at high risk of malnutrition and often show signs of it. The future relevance of this problem becomes clear, especially in view of the demographic development of the coming years and decades. In this study, the correlation between malnutrition, hypoalbuminemia, anemia, elevated CRP, and low transferrin levels, as well as mortality in seniors between 65 and 100 years, should be revealed. Therefore, the prevalence of disease-specific malnutrition (DRM), according to the criteria of the guidelines of the German Society of Nutritional Medicine (DGEM), and the prevalence of hypoalbuminemia were presented based on the data of 120 residents who were inpatients in a large Viennese nursing home between 01/2017 and 08/2020. Moreover, 86 of the inpatient residents were women and 34 were men, with a mean age of 84 years (SD: 8.7). In this examination, more than one-third of nursing home residents were malnourished. More than half of the residents were found to have low serum albumin or low transferrin saturation. However, no correlation between elevated CRP, low transferrin, or low serum albumin values and malnutrition could be established. Residents with low serum albumin or low transferrin levels, however, had a higher mortality rate. This study supports the urgent relevance of closer and individually personalized medical nutritional interventions, especially concerning hypoalbuminemic seniors aged 65 years and older.

Automated summary

Elderly patients aged 65 and over in hospitals and nursing homes are at high risk of malnutrition, which is a significant problem considering the demographic development in the future. This study aims to explore the correlation between malnutrition, hypoalbuminemia, anemia, elevated CRP, low transferrin levels, and mortality in seniors aged 65 to 100 years. The findings show a high prevalence of disease-specific malnutrition and low serum albumin or transferrin saturation in nursing home residents. While there is no correlation between elevated CRP, low transferrin, or low serum albumin values and malnutrition, residents with low serum albumin or transferrin levels have a higher mortality rate. Therefore, personalized medical nutritional interventions are urgently needed for hypoalbuminemic seniors aged 65 years and older.