Researchers have found hospital patients who eat less than 25 percent of the food they're given are more likely to die within 30 days of admission.
For the study, from Australia's Queensland University of Technology, researchers examined data from more than 3,000 patients across 56 hospitals in Australia and New Zealand. They found that 1 in 3 malnourished patients consumed less than a quarter of the food given to them, and malnourished patients were 1.5 times more likely than well-nourished patients to die within 30 days of admission.
The data also showed 1 in 5 well-nourished patients ate less than 25 percent of their food. For those patients, the risk of death within 30 days increased by more 2.5 times.
The researchers say the data suggests that all food intake should be recorded after each meal and that nutrition intervention should be offered to patients who consume less than a quarter of their food.
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