Adult malnutrition screening, prevalence in four Iranian hospitals: cross-sectional study

Malnutrition remains common but unrecognized and untreated problem worldwide particularly in Iranian hospitals. Malnutrition has a high clinical and economic impact reflected by an increased morbidity and mortality and prolonged hospital stay. The main aim of this study was to assess the nutritional state of patients on admission to four University-affiliated hospitals including two general, one oncology and one psychiatric) in Mashhad using of Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST). 404 adults aged more than 18 who were admitted to the Mashhad teaching hospitals were screened for malnutrition using MUST. The mean age was 44 ± 18 years (range 18–90 years) (188 females, 216 males). The nutritional status assessment was performed within 48 h of admission and the prevalence of malnutrition was reported 48.5%. (high risk 38.6%, medium risk 9.9%). In total, 45.2% (n = 70) of female patients had a MUST score of 2 (high risk) when compared with 51.5% (n = 35) of males. Mental disorder patients (82%) and medical ward patients (60.6%) had the highest prevalence of malnutrition. Results showed that malnutrition is a common problem affecting more than 48% of patients in this hospital-wide study. Results warrant paying more attention to malnourished patients.