[The assessment of the nutritional status and risk profile of elderly residents]

An observational study in a long term geriatric care institution and medical wards, to systematically introduce the assessment of nutritional status, cognitive function and risk profile of residents, allowed the identification of "at risk" patients.

Data were collected on 198 residents, over a period of 6 months.

The mean age was 86.6 years (range 80-99). Some data were not available for 54 patients (i.e. story of weight loss 3 months before admission: all of them had >90 years); 49% of patients were higly dependent and 30% of patients were severely malnourished (malnutrition was prevalent in cancer patients). Of the 19 patients dead during the study 6 were malnuorished, 6 at risk and for 6 a thorough assessment was not possible.

The prognostic importance weight loss over the last 6 months is widely aknowledged, however this information is not easily retrievable in geriatric populations; demented patients are more at risk of malnutrition. The collection of data on nutritional status allows the identification of patients who need a close surveillance and the implementation of preventive measures.