Poster Presentation 6th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Sarcopenia and Frailty Research 2024

Evaluating routine dietetic interventions in geriatric rehabilitation: Implications to address malnutrition, sarcopenia and underweight (#9)

Jeew Hettiarachchi 1 2 3 , Kate Fetterplace 4 5 , Esmee Reijnierse 1 6 , Andrea B Maier 1 7 8 9
  1. Department of Medicine and Aged Care, @AgeMelbourne, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
  2. School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia
  3. Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia
  4. Department of Allied Health (Clinical Nutrition), The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  5. Department of Critical Care, Melbourne Medical School, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  6. Centre of Expertise Urban Vitality, Faculty of Sports and Nutrition, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Dokter Meurerlaan 8, 1067 SM Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  7. Department of Human Movement Sciences, @AgeAmsterdam, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  8. Healthy Longevity Program, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
  9. Centre for Healthy Longevity, @AgeSingapore, National University Health System, Singapore

Background

Although diagnosing and treating malnutrition, sarcopenia and underweight are recommended to be embedded and sustained within nutritional care, it is unknown if that is facilitated in geriatric rehabilitation. This study determined the proportion of geriatric rehabilitation inpatients with malnutrition, sarcopenia or underweight receiving dietetic interventions as part of routine clinical care and if these patients have greater improvements in body weight and composition compared to patients not receiving dietetic interventions.

 

Methods

Geriatric rehabilitation inpatients from the observational REStORing health of acutely unwell adulTs (RESORT) cohort were included (n=971, median age 83.2 [77.7-88.8] years, 58.5% (n=568) females). Malnutrition, sarcopenia and underweight were defined by the Global Leadership Initiative of Malnutrition, European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2 and age-specific body mass index cut-offs. Data on dietetic interventions initiated by dietitians as part of clinical care was extracted from the centralised hospital database. Changes in body weight (kg), skeletal muscle mass (kg, %), and fat mass (kg, %) from admission to discharge were determined using linear mixed models.

 

Results

Dietetic interventions were received by 62.0% (n=306), 71.5% (138) and 76.9% (n=153) of patients with malnutrition (n=493), sarcopenia (n=193) and underweight (n=199). Duration and frequency of dietetic interventions were higher in patients with malnutrition, sarcopenia or underweight compared to patients without those conditions. There were no differences in body weight/composition changes in patients with malnutrition, sarcopenia or underweight receiving dietetic interventions compared to those not receiving interventions.

 

Conclusions

One-third of geriatric rehabilitation inpatients with malnutrition, sarcopenia or underweight are not receiving dietetic interventions and therefore the referral and diagnostic process require improvements. Patients with malnutrition, sarcopenia or underweight receiving dietetic interventions had no greater improvements in body weight/composition compared to those who did not receive interventions. Tailoring dietetic interventions for malnutrition, sarcopenia and underweight diagnosis may improve patient outcomes.