Prevalence of malnutrition using harmonized definitions in older adults from different settings – a MaNuEL Study

International audienceBackground & Aims Malnutrition is widespread among older people and related to poor outcome. Reported prevalences vary widely, also because of different diagnostic criteria used. This study aimed to describe prevalences in several populations of older persons in different settings using harmonized definitions. Methods Available studies within the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) Knowledge Hub ‘Malnutrition in the Elderly’ (MaNuEL) were used to calculate and compare prevalences of malnutrition indicators: low BMI (Results Fifteen samples with in total 5,956 participants (59.3% women) were included: 7 consisting of community-dwelling persons, 2 studies in geriatric day hospitals, 3 studies in hospitalized patients and 3 in nursing homes. Mean age of participants ranged between 67 and 87 years. Up to 4.2% of community-dwelling persons had a BMI Conclusions Prevalences for different criteria vary between and within the settings which might be explained by varying functional status. The criteria used strongly affect prevalence and it may be preferable to look at each criterion separately as each may indicate a nutritional problem