Prevalence of undernutrition in a long-term care facility in Qatar

This study assessed the nutritional status of 130 Qatari patients aged 65 to 90 years who were residing in a long-term care facility for six months. Admission weight was not measured for 49.2% of the subjects. Of those whose weight was measured at admission, assessment at six months indicated that 21.3% had lost more than 10% of their admission weight, 38.9% were under the fifth percentile of body mass index (BMI), 39.8% had a BMI less than 21, 27.1% had albumin level below 34 g/L, and 18.6% had total cholesterol below (140 mg/dl). The study showed a high prevalence of undernutrition among these long-term care residents and indicated that appropriate nutritional assessment and nutrition care were not fully implemented during their stay in the facility.