JOURNAL ARTICLE
RESEARCH SUPPORT, NON-U.S. GOV'T
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Mini Nutritional Assessment (short form) and functional decline in older patients admitted to an acute medical ward.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Protein and/or energy malnutrition is common in hospitalized older patients and is associated with poor outcomes. Among recommended nutritional screening tools, contrasting data exist about the usefulness of the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short-Form (MNA-SF). We evaluated whether the MNA-SF, alone or integrated with serum albumin levels, is a reliable predictor of functional decline in older patients.

METHODS: We studied 275 elderly patients (mean age 76.5, 60.7% males) admitted to an acute medical ward of a tertiary-care teaching hospital over a 12-month period. In this observational study, we evaluated nutritional status, with the MNA-SF alone or integrated with albumin. Data were collected at admission and related to laboratory and geriatric assessment features, and length of stay (LOS). Functional decline (defined as a loss >or=10% in terms of Barthel Index score at discharge compared with 2 weeks before admission) was considered as outcome.

RESULTS: The MNA-SF estimated 46% patients at risk of malnutrition. These subjects had worse clinical features (lower total cholesterol and albumin levels), longer LOS (13.3 vs 11.2 days, p=0.014) and considerable functional decline (OR 4.25, 95% CI 1.83-9.9, p=0.001). Integrating the MNA-SF with albumin values, we obtained an effective instrument to detect older inpatients with protein-energy malnutrition, at higher risk of undergoing functional decline (OR 16.19, 95% CI 4.68-56.03, p<0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS: The MNA-SF is a useful screening tool for hospitalized elders at risk of malnutrition. It is associated with poor clinical outcomes and is able to predict functional decline. Together with hypoalbuminemia, it better identifies patients with true protein-energy malnutrition.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app