title: Nutrition support 1: risk factors, causes and physiology of malnutrition.
abstract: This is a two-part unit on nutrition support. Levels of malnutrition are increasing in all age groups. This is a major clinical and public health concern that is often unrecognised and untreated. The British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition published a report last month, which recommended that all patients should be screened for malnutrition on admission to hospital with follow-up monitoring. Malnutrition is largely a treatable condition. Therefore, prompt identification, prevention and treatment are vital. Part 1 of this unit outlines the prevalence of malnutrition, its aetiology and the assessment tools to identify those at risk. It also provides a definition of nutrition support with a brief overview of the types of support available.
authors.affiliation: De Montfort University, Leicester.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shepherd
mesh_terms: D015984:Causality; D017281:Cost of Illness; D006801:Humans; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D008403:Mass Screening; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D018529:Nutritional Support; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors