PD038 - CLINICAL NUTRITION ASSESSMENT IN SPINAL CORD INJURY REHABILITATION: GLIM-DEFINED MALNUTRITION AND RELATED FACTORS IN VIETNAMESE INPATIENTS

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PD038

CLINICAL NUTRITION ASSESSMENT IN SPINAL CORD INJURY REHABILITATION: GLIM-DEFINED MALNUTRITION AND RELATED FACTORS IN VIETNAMESE INPATIENTS

T. Duy Doan1,2,*, V. P. Nguyen1, T. N. Pham1

1Public Health, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, 2Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, HCMC Hospital for Rehabilitation - Professional Diseases, Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam

 

Rationale: Malnutrition is common but often under-recognized in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), in whom BMI may underestimate nutritional deficits due to altered muscle mass. This study investigated the prevalence of GLIM-defined malnutrition and related factors in hospitalized patients with SCI.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 201 adults with SCI admitted to HCMC Hospital for Rehabilitation - Professional Diseases, Vietnam. Nutritional risk was screened using NRS-2002, and malnutrition was diagnosed according to the GLIM criteria. Clinical, anthropometric, body composition, and laboratory data were collected from interviews and medical records. Associations were estimated using prevalence ratios with 95% confidence intervals. The study was approved by the IRB of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City (No. 5579/ĐHYD-HĐĐĐ).

Results: Participants had a mean age of 50.0 ± 16.7 years, and 65.7% were male. Nutritional risk by NRS-2002 was present in 82.1%, while 73.6% met the GLIM criteria for malnutrition, including 87 moderate and 61 severe cases. In contrast, only 10.9% were undernourished by BMI. GLIM-defined malnutrition was significantly associated with chronic comorbidities (PR 1.32; 95% CI 1.11–1.57), cardiovascular disease (PR 1.31; 95% CI 1.14–1.51), low appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (PR 2.56; 95% CI 1.92–3.23), and low hemoglobin (PR 1.22; 95% CI 1.03–1.45), whereas higher educational attainment was inversely associated with malnutrition (PR 0.65; 95% CI 0.51–0.84).

Conclusion: Malnutrition was highly prevalent among hospitalized patients with SCI undergoing rehabilitation and was detected far more frequently by GLIM than by BMI alone. Routine GLIM-based nutritional assessment should be integrated into SCI rehabilitation care, particularly in patients with low muscle mass, anemia, and chronic comorbidities.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared