title: [The assessment of the nutritional status and risk profile of elderly residents].
abstract: An observational study in a long term geriatric care institution and medical wards, to systematically introduce the assessment of nutritional status, cognitive function and risk profile of residents, allowed the identification of "at risk" patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected on 198 residents, over a period of 6 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age was 86.6 years (range 80-99). Some data were not available for 54 patients (i.e. story of weight loss 3 months before admission: all of them had >90 years); 49% of patients were higly dependent and 30% of patients were severely malnourished (malnutrition was prevalent in cancer patients). Of the 19 patients dead during the study 6 were malnuorished, 6 at risk and for 6 a thorough assessment was not possible.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prognostic importance weight loss over the last 6 months is widely aknowledged, however this information is not easily retrievable in geriatric populations; demented patients are more at risk of malnutrition. The collection of data on nutritional status allows the identification of patients who need a close surveillance and the implementation of preventive measures.
authors.affiliation: dell'U.O. Medicina Generale, Luigi Luisani, U.O. Lungodegenza.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Gino
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giacometti
authors.forename: Gino
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pozzobon
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stevanato
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Foscaro
authors.forename: Rosanna
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roberti
authors.forename: Maria Pia
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Guidolin
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Facin
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lago
authors.forename: Doriana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Milani
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gazzola
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zilio
authors.forename: Maria Grazia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Berlese
authors.forename: Lionella
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Berton
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009752:Nutritional Status; D018570:Risk Assessment