Are Energy and Protein Intakes Lower Than Requirements in Older Adults? An Urgent Issue in Hospitals and Nursing Homes.

Energy and protein intakes lower than requirements are associated with worsening health outcomes. Here we set out to evaluate gaps between energy and protein intakes and requirements in older adults in hospitals and in nursing homes (NH). A cross-sectional study included 360 inpatients and residents aged 75 years and older in two acute care wards; i.e., a multidisciplinary care unit (MCU) and a geriatric care unit (GCU), a geriatric rehabilitation unit (GRU), and two NH. Intakes were measured for three days. Requirements were based on French National Health Authority recommendations. Energy and protein intakes were under the minimum requirement of 30 kcal/kg/day and 1.2 g/kg/day in 89.5% and 100% of MCU patients, respectively, 75.5% and 64.2% of GCU patients, 92.7% and 90.9% of GRU patients, and 83.8% and 83.8 of NH residents. Intake-to-requirement gaps were not significantly associated with malnutrition, except in the GCU group where non-malnourished patients had higher energy gaps than malnourished patients. Intakes fell dramatically short of requirements in older adults in both hospital and NH settings irrespective of malnutrition status. A new paradigm based on a patient-centered approach should be developed to adapt meals served in hospital and in NH.

Handgrip strength as a valid practical tool to screen early-onset sarcopenia in acute care wards: a first evaluation.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Sarcopenia is an age-related muscle disease associated with higher mortality, morbidity risk and health costs. An easy and convenient sarcopenia screening test would be hugely valuable for clinical critical care. The study aimed to assess handgrip strength (HGS) as a screening tool for sarcopenia in acute care-unit inpatients, using the EWGSOP 1 reference-standard definition. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Inpatients, aged 75 years old or above, of two acute care wards-a multidisciplinary care unit (MCU) and a geriatric care unit (GCU), were included between September 2017 and June 2018 in a cross-sectional study. HGS, sarcopenia, nutritional status, functional status, number of medications and sociodemographic data were collected. The accuracy of HGS as a screening test for sarcopenia was assessed by gender using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and area under the curve (AUC) in a population of older patients (n = 223; age: 85.8 yrs; BMI: 26.7 kg/m²). RESULTS: Screening was positive (patients confirmed with sarcopenia by the HGS test) with cut-off values of 18 kg for women and 25.5 kg for men, with ROC analysis giving a sensitivity of 92.9% in women and 78.6% in men. ROC curve analysis found also that HGS should be strictly higher than 15 kg in women and 18 kg in men to maximise AUC. Prevalence of sarcopenia according to the EWGSOP1 definition was 31.8% (95% CI: 22.1-41.6%) in the MCU and 27.8% (95% CI: 19.6-36.0%) in the GCU. CONCLUSIONS: Acute care wards can use HGS as a valid, easy tool for early screening of sarcopenia.