[Body weight of elderly patients on admission to a nursing home]

Body weight of elderly patients on admission to a 'verpleeghuis' (Nursing-home in the Netherlands) was 5 to 8 kg lower than that of healthy persons of the same age living at home. No difference in body weight was found between 'verpleeghuis' patients on admission and after long stay. Psychogeriatric men weighed more than somatic; the body weight of psychogeriatric and somatic women did not differ. Terminal patients weighed less than chronic patients and patients, who could be discharged from the 'verpleeghuis'. A relationship was found between body weight and age: the older the patient is, the lower he weighs. Body weight of women was also lower in the case of 'unmarried status' and 'admission residential homes'.