TY - JOUR
T1 - Malnutrition in the elderly: A narrative review
AU - Agarwal, Ekta
AU - Miller, Michelle
AU - Yaxley, Alison
AU - Isenring, Elisabeth
PY - 2013/12
Y1 - 2013/12
N2 - The focus of nutrition is often on healthy diets and exercise to minimise the risk of developing lifestyle diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, during the shift into older years often the nutrition priorities change towards meeting increased nutrient needs with less energy requirements, and minimising lean muscle loss. There are several causes of general malnutrition in the elderly that lead to depletion of muscle including starvation (protein-energy malnutrition), sarcopenia and cachexia. The prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition increases with age and the number of comorbidities. A range of simple and validated screening tools can be used to identify malnutrition in older adults, e.g. MST, MNA-SF and 'MUST'. Older adults should be screened for nutritional issues at diagnosis, on admission to hospitals or care homes and during follow up at outpatient or General Practitioner clinics, at regular intervals depending on clinical status. Early identification and treatment of nutrition problems can lead to improved outcomes and better quality of life.
AB - The focus of nutrition is often on healthy diets and exercise to minimise the risk of developing lifestyle diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, during the shift into older years often the nutrition priorities change towards meeting increased nutrient needs with less energy requirements, and minimising lean muscle loss. There are several causes of general malnutrition in the elderly that lead to depletion of muscle including starvation (protein-energy malnutrition), sarcopenia and cachexia. The prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition increases with age and the number of comorbidities. A range of simple and validated screening tools can be used to identify malnutrition in older adults, e.g. MST, MNA-SF and 'MUST'. Older adults should be screened for nutritional issues at diagnosis, on admission to hospitals or care homes and during follow up at outpatient or General Practitioner clinics, at regular intervals depending on clinical status. Early identification and treatment of nutrition problems can lead to improved outcomes and better quality of life.
KW - Cachexia
KW - Elderly
KW - Nutritional management
KW - Prevalence
KW - Protein-energy malnutrition
KW - Sarcopenia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84888072834&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.maturitas.2013.07.013
DO - 10.1016/j.maturitas.2013.07.013
M3 - Review article
VL - 76
SP - 296
EP - 302
JO - Maturitas
JF - Maturitas
SN - 0378-5122
IS - 4
ER -