Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes: Two Diseases with a Need for Combined Treatment Strategies - EASO Can Lead the Way.

Obesity is a chronic metabolic disease affecting adults and children worldwide. It has become one of the leading causes of death, as obesity is known to be the main risk factor for a number of non-communicable diseases, in particular type 2 diabetes. This close relationship led to the connotation 'diabesity', highlighting the fact that the majority of individuals with diabetes are overweight or obese. Until today the BMI is still used to classify overweight and obesity. Since reduced muscle mass is highly prevalent throughout the BMI range, the measurement of body composition is strongly recommended. Moreover, it is essential for monitoring the course of weight reduction, which is part of every effective anti-obesity treatment. Weight reduction can be achieved via different weight loss strategies, including lifestyle intervention (diet and exercise), pharmacotherapy, or bariatric surgery. However, not all of these strategies are suitable for all patients, and any further needs should be considered. Besides, attention should also be drawn to concomitant therapies. These therapies may promote additional weight gain and further trigger the deterioration of blood glucose control. Thus, therapeutic strategies are warranted, which can be easily used for the management of obese patients with type 2 diabetes to achieve their glycemic and weight loss goals.

The Patient- And Nutrition-Derived Outcome Risk Assessment Score (PANDORA): Development of a Simple Predictive Risk Score for 30-Day In-Hospital Mortality Based on Demographics, Clinical Observation, and Nutrition.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a simple scoring system to predict 30 day in-hospital mortality of in-patients excluding those from intensive care units based on easily obtainable demographic, disease and nutrition related patient data. METHODS: Score development with general estimation equation methodology and model selection by P-value thresholding based on a cross-sectional sample of 52 risk indicators with 123 item classes collected with questionnaires and stored in an multilingual online database. SETTING: Worldwide prospective cross-sectional cohort with 30 day in-hospital mortality from the nutritionDay 2006-2009 and an external validation sample from 2012. RESULTS: We included 43894 patients from 2480 units in 32 countries. 1631(3.72%) patients died within 30 days in hospital. The Patient- And Nutrition-Derived Outcome Risk Assessment (PANDORA) score predicts 30-day hospital mortality based on 7 indicators with 31 item classes on a scale from 0 to 75 points. The indicators are age (0 to 17 points), nutrient intake on nutritionDay (0 to 12 points), mobility (0 to 11 points), fluid status (0 to 10 points), BMI (0 to 9 points), cancer (9 points) and main patient group (0 to 7 points). An appropriate model fit has been achieved. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for mortality prediction was 0.82 in the development sample and 0.79 in the external validation sample. CONCLUSIONS: The PANDORA score is a simple, robust scoring system for a general population of hospitalised patients to be used for risk stratification and benchmarking.

The first nutritionDay in nursing homes: participation may improve malnutrition awareness.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: A modified version of the nutritionDay project was developed for nursing homes (NHs) to increase malnutrition awareness in this area. This report aims to describe the first results from the NH setting. METHODS: On February 22, 2007, 8 Austrian and 30 German NHs with a total of 79 units and 2137 residents (84+/-9 years of age, 79% female) participated in the NH-adapted pilot test. The NHs participated voluntarily using standardized questionnaires. The actual nutritional intake at lunch time was documented for each resident. Six-month follow-up data were received from 1483 residents (69%). RESULTS: Overall, 9.2% and 16.7% of residents were classified as malnourished subjectively by NH staff and by BMI criteria (<20 kg/m(2)), respectively. Independent risk factors for malnutrition included age>90 years, immobility, dementia, and dysphagia (all p<0.001). In total, 89% of residents ate at least half of the lunch meal, and 46% of residents received eating assistance for an average of 15 min. Six-month mortality was higher in residents with low nutritionDay BMI (<20 kg/m(2): 22%, 20-21.9 kg/m(2): 17%) compared to residents with BMI >or= 22 kg/m(2) (10%, p<0.001). Six-month weight loss >or= 6 kg was less common in residents with nutritionDay BMI<22 kg/m(2) compared to residents with higher nutritionDay BMI (3.4% vs 12.4%, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The first nutritionDay in NH provided valuable data on the nutritional status of NH residents and called attention to the remarkable time investment required by NH staff to adequately provide eating assistance to residents. Participation in the nutritionDay project appears to increase malnutrition awareness as reflected in the outcome weight results.

[Assessment of body composition--methods and practical aspects]. / Methodische und praktische Aspekte der Bestimmung der Körperzusammensetzung.

The analysis of the body composition is a valuable tool in assessing nutritional status, and provides additional information about health risks and prognosis. Several methods can be used to assess the various body components. To obtain valid data, well standardized measurements are obligatory. As regards interpretation, the investigator has to take into account the assumptions used for the respective method and possible methodological errors.