Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jan;47(1):11-29.
doi: 10.1002/jpen.2444. Epub 2022 Dec 9.

Clinical applications of body composition and functional status tools for nutrition assessment of hospitalized adults: A systematic review

Luke O Smith  1 , Joanne F Olieman  2 , Kirsten A Berk  2 , Gerdien C Ligthart-Melis  2 , Carrie P Earthman  1
Affiliations

Clinical applications of body composition and functional status tools for nutrition assessment of hospitalized adults: A systematic review

Luke O Smith et al. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2023 Jan.

Abstract

Background: No global consensus exists on diagnostic criteria for malnutrition. Muscular deficits and functional impairments are major components of available malnutrition diagnostic frameworks because these facets of nutrition status significantly impact outcomes. The purpose of this review is to explore which body composition assessment (BCA) and functional status assessment (FSA) tools are being used for nutrition assessment (NA) and monitoring the response to nutrition interventions (RNIs) in adult inpatients.

Methods: A literature search of Embase, Medline (Ovid), Web of Science, and Cochrane Central was performed to identify studies that used BCA and/or FSA tools for NA (along with an accepted NA diagnostic framework) and/or for monitoring RNI in adult inpatients.

Results: The search yielded 3667 articles; 94 were included in the review. The number of studies using BCA and/or FSA tools for NA was 47 and also 47 for monitoring RNI. Seventy-nine percent of studies used bioimpedance for BCA, and 97% that included FSA utilized handgrip strength. When compared against sets of diagnostic criteria, many of the BCA and FSA tools showed promising associations with nutrition status.

Conclusion: Bioimpedance methods are the most widely used bedside BCA tools, and handgrip strength is the most widely used FSA tool; however, these methods are being used with a variety of protocols, algorithms, and interpretation practices in heterogeneous populations. To create a standardized nutrition status assessment process there is a need for validation studies on bedside methods and the development of globally standardized assessment protocols in clinical inpatient settings.

Keywords: body composition; fat-free mass; functional status; hospital; inpatient; lean tissue; malnutrition; muscle; nutrition support practice; nutritional assessment.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Todhunter EN. A Guide to Nutrition Terminology for Indexing and Retrieval. Issue 95. U.S. National Institutes of Health; 1970.
    1. Smith LO, Vest MT, Rovner AJ, et al. Prevalence and characteristics of starvation-related malnutrition in a mid-Atlantic healthcare system: a cohort study. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2022;46(2):357-366. doi:10.1002/jpen.2114
    1. Inelmen EM, Sergi G. Biochemical parameters of nutrition. In: Mantovani G, Anker SD, Inui A, eds. Cachexia and Wasting: A Modern Approach. 297. Springer; 2007:59-72.
    1. Gibson RS. Principles of Nutritional Assessment. Oxford University Press; 2005.
    1. Wham C, Miller M. Current nutritional recommendations. In: Malavolta M, Mocchegiani E, eds. Molecular Basis of Nutrition and Aging. Elsevier; 2016:723-733.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources