BackgroundThe nutritional status of the aging individual results from a complex interaction between personal and environmental factors. A disease influences and is influenced by the nutritional status and the functional capacity of the individual. We asses the relationship between nutritional status and indicators of functional capacity among recently hospitalized elderly in a general hospital.MethodsA cross-sectional study was done with 240 elderly (women, n = 127 and men, n = 113) hospitalized in a hospital that provides care for the public and private healthcare systems. The nutritional status was classified by the MNA (Mini Nutritional Assessment) into: malnourished, risk of malnutrition and without malnutrition (adequate). The functional autonomy indicators were obtained by the self-reported Instrumental Activity of Daily Living (IADL) and Activity of Daily Living (ADL) questionnaire. The chi-square test was used to compare the proportions and the level of significance was 5%.ResultsAmong the assessed elderly, 33.8% were classified as adequate regarding nutritional status; 37.1% were classified as being at risk of malnutrition and 29.1% were classified as malnourished. All the IADL and ADL variables assessed were significantly more deteriorated among the malnourished individuals. Among the ADL variables, eating partial (42.9%) or complete (12.9%) dependence was found in more than half of the malnourished elderly, in 13.4% of those at risk of malnutrition and in 2.5% of those without malnutrition.ConclusionThere is an interrelationship between the nutritional status of the elderly and reduced functional capacity.

LOS was associated with disease and nutrition status. Among the more common diseases, nutrition status according to the subjective approach determined the LOS for patients with DTD and nutrition status according to arm circumference determined the LOS for patients with neoplasms.

-Context -Malnutrition is frequently observed in inpatients with malignant diseases and may contribute to longer hospital stays. Objective -To compare the nutritional status, lymphocyte count, hemoglobin values and length of hospital stay of patients with and without malignant diseases. Methods -This comparative study assessed indicators of nutritional status, namely body mass index, recent weight loss, lymphocyte count, hemoglobin and length of hospital stay, of 928 surgical patients with and without malignant diseases (50.2% females and 49.8% males). The chi-square test was used to compare proportions and the Mann-Whitney test was used to compare continuous measurements between two groups. The significance level was set at 5%. Results -Patients with malignant diseases had longer hospital stays (P<0.0001), furthermore, a higher percentage of patients with malignant diseases had body mass index <18.5 (P<0.0001) and experienced recent weight changes (P<0.0002). Lymphocyte count also differed statistically between the groups (P = 0.0131), which lower levels were identified among patients with malignant diseases. Conclusion -The lymphocyte count, hemoglobin values and weight loss are important findings of nutritional depletion in patients with malignant diseases. HEADINGS -Nutritional status. Weight loss. Blood cell count. Length of stay.

No abstract

In the conditions of the present study, dementia was associated with nutritional status, but not with energy and nutrient intakes, suggesting that older people with dementia may have higher nutritional requirements. Implications for practice.  Investigation of dementia may contribute to the nutritional status assessment of older people and energy expenditure and immobility should be investigated for a more complete assessment.

Background : Roux-en-Y gastric bypass patients can experience changes in calcium metabolism and hyperparathyroidism secondary to vitamin D deficiency. Aim : To evaluate nutritional deficiencies related to the calcium metabolism of patients undergoing gastric bypass with a 10-year follow-up. Method : This is a longitudinal retrospective study of patients submitted to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass at a multidisciplinary clinic located in the Brazilian southeast region. The study investigated the results of the following biochemical tests: serum calcium, ionized calcium, vitamin D, and parathormone (PTH). The generalized estimating equations (GEE) determined the nutritional deficiencies using a significance level of 5%. Results : Among the patients who finished the study (120 months), 82.86% (n=29) had vitamin D deficiency, and 41.94% (n=13) had high PTH. Postoperative time had a significant effect on PTH (p=0.0059). The percentages of patients with vitamin D, serum calcium, and ionized calcium deficiencies did not change significantly over time. Conclusion : One of the outcomes was vitamin D deficiency associated with secondary hyperparathyroidism. These findings reaffirm the importance of monitoring the bone metabolism of patients submitted to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. HEADINGS:Calcium deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency. Secondary hyperparathyroidism.

BackgroundFood and nutritional care quality must be assessed and scored, so as to improve health institution efficacy. This study aimed to detect and compare actions related to food and nutritional care quality in public and private hospitals.MethodsInvestigation of the Hospital Food and Nutrition Service (HFNS) of 37 hospitals by means of structured interviews assessing two quality control corpora, namely nutritional care quality (NCQ) and hospital food service quality (FSQ). HFNS was also evaluated with respect to human resources per hospital bed and per produced meal.ResultsComparison between public and private institutions revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between the number of hospital beds per HFNS staff member (p = 0.02) and per dietitian (p < 0.01). The mean compliance with NCQ criteria in public and private institutions was 51.8% and 41.6%, respectively. The percentage of public and private health institutions in conformity with FSQ criteria was 42.4% and 49.1%, respectively. Most of the actions comprising each corpus, NCQ and FSQ, varied considerably between the two types of institution. NCQ was positively influenced by hospital type (general) and presence of a clinical dietitian. FSQ was affected by institution size: large and medium-sized hospitals were significantly better than small ones.ConclusionsFood and nutritional care in hospital is still incipient, and actions concerning both nutritional care and food service take place on an irregular basis. It is clear that the design of food and nutritional care in hospital indicators is mandatory, and that guidelines for the development of actions as well as qualification and assessment of nutritional care are urgent.

Deterioration of the nutritional status of older people is accompanied by a reduction in energy and some nutrient intake. The investigation of food intake in older people could provide important information about nutritional risk.