P181 - PREVALENCE AND RISK FACTORS OF MALNUTRITION IN PRIMARY CARE: INSIGHTS FROM NUTRITIONDAY 2022-2023

P181

PREVALENCE AND RISK FACTORS OF MALNUTRITION IN PRIMARY CARE: INSIGHTS FROM NUTRITIONDAY 2022-2023

P. Lopes^1,*, S. Tarantino², A. Schartmann², R. Marinho³, C. Schuh², A. C. Roque⁴, C. Vieira Gonçalves⁵, F. Leite Costa⁶, A. Marinho³, M. Hiesmayr² on behalf of nutritionDay working group

¹Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Arganil, Arganil, Portugal, ²Center for Medical Data Science, Institute of Medical Statistics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, ³Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Santo António, Porto, ⁴USF Caminhos do Cértoma, Pampilhosa do Botão, ⁵USF Mirante, Olhão, ⁶Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade da Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal

Rationale: Malnutrition is often undetected in primary care, leading to poor outcomes. While research focuses on older adults, data on the broader primary care population is limited. This study assesses the prevalence of malnutrition risk (MST ≥2) and risk factors in primary care patients from nutritionDay 2022-2023.

Methods: The nutritionDay initiative was conducted in Portuguese primary settings in 2022 and 2023. Data from 3109 patients were analyzed to determine malnutrition risk (MST ≥2). Logistic regression assessed the association between recent hospitalization (within 1 and 3 months) and malnutrition risk.

Results: Among participants, 64% were female, median age 57 [44-68] years. Obesity (BMI >30) was in 28%, overweight (BMI 25-30) in 39%, and underweight (BMI <18.5) in 1.5%. Unintentional weight loss (past 3 months) was 10.7%. Reduced meal intake (previous day) was 24.5%, due to lack of appetite (29%), chewing/swallowing issues (24%), and fatigue (18%). MST ≥2 was in 14% (n=432), highest in nervous, digestive, and musculoskeletal conditions. Malnutrition risk was higher in hypertension, diabetes, chronic lung/liver diseases, and cardiac conditions. Recent hospitalization raised risk: past month (OR: 4.0, 95% CI: 2.4–6.7, p < 0.0001); past three months (OR: 3.2, 95% CI: 1.8–5.6, p < 0.0001).

Conclusion: Malnutrition risk is prevalent among primary care patients, particularly those with comorbidities and recent hospitalization. Patients who had been hospitalized within the past one or three months had significantly higher odds of malnutrition risk. Additionally, reduced food intake, primarily due to lack of appetite, chewing/swallowing difficulties, and fatigue, was common. These findings highlight the importance of routine malnutrition screening in primary care settings

Disclosure of Interest: None declared