Morten Mowé, MD, PhD, Thomas Bøhmer, MD, PhD
Dept. of Medicine, Aker University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Correspondence to: Morten Mowé, MD, PhD
Aker University hospital, Trondheimsveien 235, 0514 Oslo, Norway. Phone: + 47-22 89 49 79. Fax: + 47-23 03 32 23. E-mail: morten.mowe@os.telia.no

Background: Malnutrition is a common condition among aged, hospitalised patients, which may be due to lack of appetite in the same group. It is uncertain, however, the relationship between a reduced appetite and the nutritional status.
Objective: Assess the prevalence of reduced appetite, and to study the relationship between a reduced appetite and the nutritional status.
Design: A randomised population survey among elderly: one group recruited from patients recently admitted for acute disease or exacerbation of disease, and one group recruited from their homes
Results: Reduced appetite was present in 43% in the hospital group, compared to 15% in the home living group. Seventy-one % of those with reduced appetite were undernourished, while 44% with normal appetite were undernourished. The sensitivity for malnutrition was 0.55, while the positive predictive value was 0.71.
Conclusion: Reduced appetite is common among aged people in hospital, and is a predictor for undernutrition.

Keywords: aged patients, appetite, evidence based medicine, nutritional parameters, undernutrition