Malnutrition linked to worse health outcomes in older adults with hip fracture Original paper

In this meta-analysis of observational studies in older adults with hip fracture, malnutrition/risk of malnutrition was associated with adverse clinical outcomes.

The association between malnutrition/risk of malnutrition and different clinical outcomes in the context of hip fracture.

The measured outcomes were the risks of increased mortality, reduced mobility, more supported living arrangements, and postoperative complications, as well as the combination of all of these outcomes.

A total of 7,290 men and women (average ages of 72–84) with hip fracture.

A meta-analysis of 14 observational studies (11 cohort studies and 3 case-control studies) was performed. Four studies were conducted in China, 3 studies were conducted in Finland, and 1 study each was conducted in the United States, the Netherlands, Italy, Taiwan, Japan, Austria, and Spain. In most studies, malnutrition/risk of malnutrition was assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF) or the Geriatric Nutrition Risk Index (GNRI).

In the overall analyses, malnutrition/risk of malnutrition was associated with a 142% increase in the risk of any of the adverse outcomes and with increases of 40% in the odds of reduced mobility, 254% in the odds of increased mortality, 118% in the odds of more supported living arrangements, and 175% in the odds of postoperative complications.

In subgroup analyses based on the length of the follow-up period, an overall trend for a higher risk during subsequently longer follow-up periods was observed.

All of the studies in the meta-analysis were rated as being of high methodological quality.