EVALUATION OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS WITH MUST SCREENING TEST AND COMPARISON OF RESULTS WITH LABORATORY PARAMETERS

AYDAN ÇEVIK VAROL

Community Health Center, Tekirdag, Turkey

Introduction: The follow-up of malnourished patients is recommended by many international organizations. The Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) is recommended for determining the malnutrition status of adult individuals. This test is easy to use, and its results are consistent with laboratory data. The purpose of this study is to assess the malnutrition status of patients recei- ving home health care by using MUST together with laboratory data.

Material and methods: This study was conducted between 2013 and 2014 and included 178 patients aged 65 years or older who received home health care. According to the MUST evaluation form, a score of 23.5-30 was considered normal; 17-23.5 was considered to indicate malnutrition risk; and <17 was considered to indicate malnutrition. One-way ANOVA was used for descriptive statistical analysis, and Tukey’s honest significant difference (HSD) test was used for determining differences between groups. Pearson’s chi-square test, Yates’ continuity correction test, Fisher’s exact test and the Fisher-Freeman-Halton test were used for com- parison of qualitative data. The significance level was set at p < 0.05, with a 95% confidence interval.

Results: The average age of the subjects participating in the study was 81.19 ± 8.22 years, and the study group comprised 32% male and 68% female participants. The body mass index values showed that 67.4% of the patients were obese. According to the MUST scores, 12.4% were at moderate risk and 14.6% were at high risk of malnutrition. Over the last 3 months, 16.9% of the patients had lost more than 3 kg of body weight, and 44.9% were dealing with psychological stress or acute illness. In this study population, 33% of the patients could eat their meals without assistance. Further, 45.5% had severe dementia or depression, and 94.9% were on more than three prescription drugs per day. The total protein, albumin, iron, TDBC, ferritin and B12 folic acid levels differed significantly according to the MUST scores (p<0.01), as did the CRP, hemoglobin, cholesterol, HDL, AST and ALT levels (p< 0.05).

Conclusions: The results indicate that malnutrition is fairly common in geriatric patients who need health care at home. These patients should therefore extensive laboratory tests and physical examinations for assessing anamnesis and physical and mental functions, and should also undergo screening, specifically for the risk of malnutrition.