Fatores associados ao risco de desnutrição hospitalar: um corte transversal do nutritionday de 2021–2022

Abstract

Introduction: Hospital malnutrition is concerning, as it has been associated with higher rates of hospital readmissions and increased mortality. Objective: to assess the prevalence of the risk of malnutrition and associated factors in hospitalized patients. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study, with the sample collected from a secondary database related to NutritionDay, which took place in the years 2021 and 2022 at a teaching hospital in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul. The risk of malnutrition in patients was screened using the Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST). The statistical tests employed included Pearson's Chi-square test, Fisher's Exact test, as well as the independent samples t-test (or Mann-Whitney U test). Results: 88 patients were evaluated, with 52.3% being female The risk of malnutrition was present in 47.7% of the sample. The presence of malnutrition risk was significantly associated with higher rates of hospital readmissions (p = 0.014) and higher mortality rates (p = 0.001) compared to patients without risk. Furthermore, the risk of malnutrition was associated with weight loss (p < 0.001) and reduced food intake prior to hospitalization (< 0.001), as well as lower BMI (p = 0.001) and low food intake (< 0.001) in the day of NutritionDay. Conclusion: The risk of malnutrition was associated with worse clinical outcomes, such as higher rates of hospital readmissions and mortality, as well as the risk of malnutrition was associated with lower BMI, weight loss, reduced food consumption in the last three months prior to hospitalization and consumption reduced on the day of NutritionDay.