A prospective study of nutritional status of hospitalised patients in urban corporate set up

Malnutrition is quite common in hospitalised patients, with most studies indicating a prevalence of 20–62%. It is associated with length of stay and morbidity in developed countries. This study was performed to identify nutritional status of hospitalised patients in urban corporate setting by using primarily, the Mini Nutritional Assessment tool. This is a prospective study conducted in an urban tertiary care centre. 304 consecutive patients admitted to the hospital were studied, between the dates of July 2007 and September 2007. The study included the measurement of anthropometrics, global evaluation, dietary habits and subjective assessment score. Serum albumin level was used to assess visceral protein status. The study excluded Obstetrics & Gynaecology, paediatric and critical care cases. Out of the 304 patients, Females 41.55% and Male 42.55% were over nourished. Medical patients were more malnourished and at risk of malnutrition (15.08% and 70.85%) when compared to surgical patients (12.38% and 60.95%) respectively. This study shows that in an urban setting, the risk of malnutrition (overweight & underweight) is very real. Clinicians have to note that malnutrition has a direct impact on the outcome of treatment.