Research - Nutritional Status

The aim of this study was to assess the risk of malnutrition in hospitalized patients with three different tests and to compare these tests in terms of long hospitalization periods and sarcopenia.

Tackling severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is a global health priority. Heightened risk of non-communicable diseases (NCD) in children exposed to SAM at around 2 years of age is plausible in view of previously described consequences of other early nutritional insults. By applying developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) theory to this group, we aimed to explore the long-term effects of SAM.

Measurements of plasma volume with ¹²⁵I human serum albumin, extracellular water (ECW) with ⁸²Br^-, and total body water (TBW) with ³H₂0 were made on 16 postoperative patients, 15 depleted patients, and three control subjects.

Most insulin-requiring diabetes patients in Ethiopia have an atypical form of the disease, which resembles previous descriptions of malnutrition-related diabetes. As so little is known about its aetiology, we have carried out a case–control study to evaluate its social and nutritional determinants.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is considered a major public health problem in the world. Weight loss, muscle and fat mass depletion are common nutritional problems in COPD patients and are determinant factors in pulmonary function, health status, disability and mortality. In the present study, we assessed nutritional status in COPD patients.

Change in hydration is common in children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) including during treatment, but is difficult to assess. We investigated the utility of bio-electrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA), a quick non-invasive method, for indexing hydration during treatment.Utility of bio-electrical impedance vector analysis for monitoring treatment of severe acute malnutrition in children

The use of phase angle (PhA) and raw parameters of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) has gained attention as alternative to conventional error-prone calculation of body composition in disease. This review investigates the clinical relevance and applicability of PhA and Bioelectrical Impedance Vector Analysis (BIVA) which uses the plot of resistance and reactance normalized per height.

Hospital malnutrition is still underestimated among physicians, even in internal medicine settings. This is a cross-sectional study, aiming to estimate the risk, the prevalence and the impact of malnutrition in an Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology Department of a large Italian hospital (Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome).

Nutritional status can be difficult to assess. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA)-derived phase angle (PA), and the plasma markers citrulline and transthyretin (pre-albumin) have the potential to assist, but the protocol of fasting and resting for BIA renders the investigation impractical for routine use, especially so in populations at high risk of malnutrition.

Despite expanding use of bio-impedance (BI), little is known about its pathophysiologic significance and biological correlates.