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Hypophosphatemia as a sign of malnutrition in older hospitalized patients

Maryam Pourhassan1, Manfred James Müller2, Dorothee Volkert3

  • 1Department of Geriatric Medicine, Marien Hospital Herne, Ruhr-Universität, Bochum, Germany. mpourhassan1918@gmail.com.

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
|July 4, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Hypophosphatemia (HP), a low phosphate level, is linked to malnutrition in older hospitalized patients. Identifying HP can signal nutritional risk, but normal phosphate levels do not rule out malnutrition.

Area of Science:

  • Geriatric Medicine
  • Clinical Nutrition
  • Internal Medicine

Background:

  • The association between hypophosphatemia (HP) and malnutrition in elderly hospitalized individuals is under-researched.
  • Nutritional status is critical for recovery and well-being in older adults.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between hypophosphatemia and malnutrition in older patients admitted to acute care geriatric wards.
  • To determine if HP can serve as an indicator of nutritional risk in this population.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 335 patients admitted to geriatric acute care wards was studied.
  • Malnutrition screening was performed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF).
  • Patients were classified into hypophosphatemia (HP) (<0.68 mmol/l) and non-HP (>0.68 mmol/l) groups based on serum phosphate levels.

Main Results:

  • 7% of the participants exhibited hypophosphatemia.
  • Malnutrition or nutritional risk was significantly more prevalent in patients with HP (86%) compared to those without HP (56%) (P=0.003).
  • HP demonstrated a specificity of 97.9% and a positive predictive value of 86.4% for identifying malnutrition.

Conclusions:

  • Hypophosphatemia is associated with malnutrition in older hospitalized patients.
  • HP can be a valuable indicator of nutritional risk in this demographic.
  • Normal serum phosphate levels do not exclude the presence of malnutrition or nutritional risk.

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