Malnutrition Unrecognized and Untreated

Malnutrition is common across varying patient populations, particularly older adults, and sarcopenia prevalence increases with advancing age. Chronic diseases, acute inflammation, and important comorbidities make the situation more complex. When these changes are translated into nutritional concepts, it is clear that in the older patient there is a strong overlap of starvation, sarcopenia, and cachexia. The final result is a complex metabolic state resulting in a therapy resistant malnutrition-sarcopenia syndrome. This condition is associated with substantial adverse outcomes affecting both the patient and the health care system, including increased morbidity, mortality, rehospitalization rates, and health care costs. Clinicians are urged to screen, assess, and treat this condition currently so as to adequately address the full spectrum of patients’ nutritional issues. By examining all aspects, clinicians can more fully assess their patients’ clinical and nutritional status and can tailor targeted therapies to meet their needs and improve outcomes.