Malnutrition related deaths

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Studies have shown that malnutrition increases the risk of morbidity, mortality, the length of hospital stay, and costs in the elderly population. Approximately one third of all patients admitted to geriatric wards in Denmark are malnourished according to the Danish Geriatric database. The aim of this study is to describe and examine the sudden increase in deaths due to malnutrition in the elderly population in Denmark from 1999 and, similarly, the sudden decline in malnutrition related deaths in 2007.

METHOD: A descriptive epidemiologic study was performed. All Danes listed in the national death registry who died from malnutrition in the period from 1994 to 2012 are included.

RESULTS: The number of deaths from malnutrition increased significantly during the period from 1999 to 2007, especially in the age group 70 years and over. Additionally, we document a surprising similarity between the development in excess mortality from malnutrition in the five Danish regions during the same period.

CONCLUSIONS: During the period 1999-2007 malnutrition was the direct cause of 340 extra deaths, and probably ten times more registered under other diseases. This development in excess mortality runs parallel in all five Danish regions over time.