title: Nutritional status assessment in geriatrics: Consensus declaration by the Spanish Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology Nutrition Work Group.
abstract: Ongoing population ageing is one of the factors influencing the increase in the prevalence of undernutrition, because elderly people are a vulnerable group due to their biological, psychological and social characteristics. Despite its high prevalence, undernutrition is underdiagnosed in the geriatric sphere. For this reason, the aim of this consensus document is to devise a protocol for geriatric nutritional assessment. A multidisciplinary team has been set up within the Spanish Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology (in Spanish Sociedad Española de Geriatría y Gerontología, SEGG) in order to address undernutrition and risk of undernutrition so that they can be diagnosed and treated in an effective manner. The MNA-SF is a practical tool amongst the many validated methods for nutritional screening. Following suspicion of undernutrition or after establishing the presence of undernutrition, a full assessment will include a detailed nutritional history of the patient. The compilation of clinical-nutritional and dietetic histories seeks to aid in identifying the possible risk factors at the root of a patient's undernutrition. Following this, an anthropometric assessment associated to laboratory data, will describe the patient's physical and metabolic changes associated to undernutrition. Currently, the tendency is to further nutritional assessment through the use of non-invasive techniques to study body composition in association with functional status. The latter is an indirect index for nutritional status which is very interesting from a geriatrician's point of view. To conclude, correct nutritional screening is the fundamental basis for an early undernutrition diagnosis and to assess the need for nutritional treatment. In order to achieve this, it is fundamental to foster research in the field of nutritional geriatrics, in order to expand our knowledge base and to increasingly practice evidence-based geriatrics.
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Bromatology Area, Faculty of Medicine, Valladolid University, Avenida de Ramón y Cajal 7, 47005, Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: M Alicia
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Camina-Martín
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Bromatology Area, Faculty of Medicine, Valladolid University, Avenida de Ramón y Cajal 7, 47005, Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: de Mateo-Silleras
authors.affiliation: Geriatrics Department, Clinica Los Manzanos, Grupo Viamed, Calle Hermanos Maristas, 26140, Lardero, Spain. Electronic address: vmalafarina@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Malafarina
authors.affiliation: Dr Villacián Care Centre, C/Orión 2, 47014, Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lopez-Mongil
authors.affiliation: Universidad de Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: Virtudes
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Niño-Martín
authors.affiliation: Área de Accesibilidad Universal, Ayuntamiento de Málaga, Avenida de Cervantes 4, 29016, Málaga, Spain.
authors.forename: J Antonio
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: López-Trigo
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Bromatology Area, Faculty of Medicine, Valladolid University, Avenida de Ramón y Cajal 7, 47005, Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: M Paz
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Redondo-del-Río
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D000886:Anthropometry; D001823:Body Composition; D015930:Diet Records; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: Elderly; Free-fatty mass; Functional status; Nutritional assessment; Undernutrition