Malnutrition as a prognostic factor for 2‐year mortality in hospitalized patients in Norway: A matched cohort study

Background Risk of malnutrition and malnutrition have been previously associated with increased risk of mortality. It remains unclear, however, whether the severity of malnutrition differentiates in association with all‐cause mortality. The aim was to assess the association between being at risk of malnutrition or being diagnosed with malnutrition according to the diagnostic assessment of the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) with all‐cause mortality during a 2‐year follow‐up in hospitalized patients. Methods A matched cohort study was conducted in hospitalized patients (excluding cancer, intensive care, and transmissible infections) at a university hospital in Bergen, Norway. All patients underwent nutrition screening with the Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 and a further nutrition assessment using the GLIM criteria. All‐cause mortality was estimated from the Norwegian death registry after 2 years, and risk factors were calculated by Cox regression analysis. Results Among 326 patients included, 55 patients died within 2 years (17% mortality rate). Risk of malnutrition was associated with increased all‐cause mortality, which disappeared after adjustment for age and sex. Malnutrition was associated with an increased risk of all‐cause mortality at 2 years also after adjustment for age and sex and, additionally, for further comorbidities (hazard ratio = 2.50; 95% CI, 1.41–4.42). When analyzed separately only severe malnutrition was associated with mortality (hazard ratio = 2.73; 95% CI, 1.44–5.15). Conclusion The findings highlight a strong association between inpatients with severe malnutrition, defined by the GLIM criteria, and an increased risk of all‐cause mortality within a 2‐year follow‐up.