Malnutrition as a prognostic factor in elderly patients with hip fractures

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Hip fracture occurs frequently in elderly patients, with devastating effects on the quality of life due to the high financial burden and the high mortality rate in patients with this condition. Malnutrition is prevalent in the elderly and it can negatively influence patients recovery from the hip fracture. Our proposal was to assess the relationship between malnutrition and the recovery of patients with hip fracture. PATIENTS AND METHOD: A total of 110 patients with hip fractures who were admitted to the orthopedic unit at the Reina Sofia Hospital were reassessed one year after discharge. A prospective cohort design and logistic regression analysis was used. RESULTS: Mean age was 81.4, and 80% of patientes were women. After one year 19.7% of patients had died. A multivariate analysis showed a significant relationship between a poor functional recovery and age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.19), caloric malnutrition (OR = 290), protein malnutrition (OR = 125); and there was a significant relationship between being confined to bed and a worse situation before fracture (OR = 10.02); caloric malnutrition (OR = 9.57) and protein malnutrition (OR = 15.23). CONCLUSIONS: Caloric and protein malnutrition were associated with a worse functional recovery in elderly patients with hip fracture.