DAM exacts a large burden on American society. Therefore, improved diagnosis and management of community-based DAM to alleviate this burden are needed.

BACKGROUND: COPD is a leading cause of death and disability in the United States. Patients with COPD are at a high risk of nutritional defi ciency, which is associated with declines in respiratory function, lean body mass and strength, and immune function. Although oral nutritional supplementation (ONS ) has been associated with improvements in some of these domains, the impact of hospital ONS on readmission risk, length of stay (LOS), and cost among hospitalized patients is unknown.

Disease-associated malnutrition (DAM) is a well-recognized problem in many countries, but the extent of its burden on the Chinese population is unclear. This article reports the results of a burden-of-illness study on DAM in 15 diseases in China. Using data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the China Health and Nutrition Survey, and the published literature, mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost because of DAM were calculated; a financial value of this burden was calculated following WHO guidelines. DALYs lost annually to DAM in China varied across diseases, from a low of 2248 in malaria to a high of 1 315 276 in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The total burden was 6.1 million DALYs, for an economic burden of US$66 billion (Chinese ¥ 447 billion) annually. This burden is sufficiently large to warrant immediate attention from public health officials and medical providers, especially given that low-cost and effective interventions are available.

ONS use was associated with lower LOS and episode cost among pediatric inpatients. ONS use in hospitalized pediatric patients may provide a cost-effective, evidence-based approach to improving pediatric hospital care.

Objective: Peptide -based (PB) enteral tube feeding (ETF) formulas have been shown to reduce gastrointestinal (GI) intolerance in patients receiving enteral nutrition. However, limited data exist in relation to their use in the postacute/home care setting. We sought to assess the real-world GI tolerance, healthcare utilization, and resource use costs of 100% whey-protein PB ETF in adults in a postacute care setting and describe their demographic, clinical, and treatment characteristics.Method: Using medical claims data from the United States, we analyzed GI intolerance events occurring in adults receiving 100% whey-protein PB ETF (Peptamen ® adult formulas) for one year before and after initiation of ETF. Resource use costs were subsequently estimated using a multivariate general linearized model and adjusted for age, gender, and Charlson Comorbidity Index score.