Objective:
The risk of malnutrition is higher in older patients. Malnutrition in older patients causes increased mortality rates and increased risk of infection and hospitalization. Therefore, in older patients, high-risk individuals for malnutrition should be identified and appropriate interventions for malnutrition should be made early. In this study, we aimed to compare mini nutritional assessment-short form (MNA-SF) and geriatric nutrition risk index (GNRI) screening tests in detecting malnutrition in older outpatients.
Materials and Methods:
The study was conducted in a geriatric outpatient clinic. This study was conducted between January 2020 and June 2020. The study was cross-sectional. One hundred and seventy-three patients were aged 60 years and over.
Results:
The median age of the whole group was 75 (71-81) interquartile range (IQR) years, and 108 (62%) of them were female. The median MNASF score for the whole group was 12 (11-14) IQR, and for GNRI this was 104.2 (101.2-107.2) IQR. In the receiver operating curve analysis, 103.5 points were determined as the cut-off point of GNRI. GNRI had lower specificity [Specificity: 95% confidence interval (CI), 66.67 (58.8-73.9)], but optimal sensitivity [Sensitivity: 95% CI, 100 (76.8-100)] compared with MNA-SF.
Conclusion:
A new cut-off value of 103.5 with higher sensitivity but lower specificity than the original cut-off value is recommended when using the GNRI in the assessment of the nutritional status of older outpatients.
Keywords: Mini nutritional assessment-short form, geriatric nutritional risk index, older, outpatients, nutritional status