LB026 - NUTRITIONAL RISK IN HOSPITALIZED GREEK ADULTS: PREVALENCE AND CLINICAL CORRELATES TRAJECTORIES IN THE CONTEXT OF RECENT NATIONAL NUTRITION LEGISLATION.

LB026

NUTRITIONAL RISK IN HOSPITALIZED GREEK ADULTS: PREVALENCE AND CLINICAL CORRELATES TRAJECTORIES IN THE CONTEXT OF RECENT NATIONAL NUTRITION LEGISLATION.

M. P. Oikonomou¹, E. A. Yatsulava¹, M. E. Iona¹, G. A. Doschοri¹, O. G. Ntourou¹, A. Almperti¹, T. E. Sialvera², D. Karayiannis^1,*

¹ Clinical Nutrition, Evangelismos General Hospital, ² Clinical Nutrition, Sotiria" General Hospital of Chest Diseases, Athens, Greece

Rationale: Malnutrition is prevalent yet underrecognised among inpatients, and independently associated with prolonged hospitalisation, increased complications, and excess mortality. Nutrition risk screening is now statutorily mandated by Greek Law 5129/2024. This study determined the prevalence of nutritional risk, characterised intergroup differences, and nutrition support practices during hospitalisation.

Methods: A cross-sectional observational study enrolled 748 consecutive adult inpatients across two tertiary-care hospitals in Greece. Nutrition Risk Screening 2002, anthropometrics, length of stay (LOS), and various biochemical indices were recorded at admission and discharge. Patients were dichotomised by NRS-2002 (≥ 3 versus < 3). Mann–Whitney U or independent t-tests assessed intergroup differences; Wilcoxon or paired t-tests evaluated intragroup change (α = 0.05).

Results: Of 748 patients (mean age 68.2 ± 16.8 years; 51.8% male), 389 (52%) were classified at nutritional risk. At-risk patients were older (73.4 vs 62.7 years), had lower BMI (24.7 vs 27.5 kg/m²), longer LOS (9.4 vs 6.4 days), lower albumin (3.61 vs 4.01 g/dL), and higher CRP values (6.67 vs 4.60 mg/dL; all p < 0.001). Albumin levels declined significantly in both cohorts (p < 0.001). Admission albumin was the strongest independent predictor of LOS (β = −4.756; 95% CI: −6.479 to −3.032; p < 0.001). Despite this high prevalence, only 24.8% of at-risk patients received specialised nutritional support.

Conclusion: Nutritional risk exceeds 50% in this cohort, with a universal decline in albumin irrespective of baseline risk classification. These findings reinforce the mandate of National Law and highlight a reactive nutrition care paradigm that warrants systematic institutional intervention

Disclosure of Interest: None declared