Nutrition Indicators in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus-Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background/Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the prevalence and degree of malnutrition among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus using the CONUT and PNI scores. Hypothesis: The CONUT and PNI scores provide a reliable assessment of the nutritional status of patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: The retrospective study was run at the Department of Internal, Autoimmune and Metabolic Diseases in the Central Clinical Hospital of the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice from January to December of 2022. From 266 patients diagnosed with diabetes, only 64 met the criteria and were included in this study. Results: We found varying degrees of malnutrition among patients. Only 20.3% of them were well nourished. Mild to moderate malnutrition was observed in, altogether, 67.2% of patients. Conclusions: The strong correlation between the CONUT and PNI (r = -0.88) indices confirms their diagnostic value. The introduction of the CONUT or PNI tools into routine practice should be considered in patients with T2DM, especially those over 65 years of age, but taking into account the significant limitations of these indices and the influence of various factors on the laboratory data considered.

Keywords: CONUT; PNI; diabetes mellitus type 2; malnutrition; nutrition indicators.

Figure 1

Nutritional status of patients based on CONUT score. Pie chart illustrating the distribution of patients according to their nutritional status, as assessed by the CONUT score. Data are presented for the study cohort (n = 64). The chart shows the percentage of patients classified as normally nourished (n = 13), mildly malnourished (n = 23), moderately malnourished (n = 20) and severely malnourished (n = 8). Abbreviations: CONUT—Controlling Nutritional Status; n—number of patients.

Figure 2

Nutritional status of patients based on PNI score. Pie chart illustrating the distribution of patients according to their nutritional status categories, as defined by the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) score. Data are presented for the study cohort (n = 64). Patients are categorized based on PNI score thresholds: PNI < 35 (poor nutritional status, n = 19, 30%), 35 ≤ PNI < 38 (moderate nutritional risk, n = 5, 8%) and PNI ≥ 38 (good nutritional status, n = 40, 62%). Abbreviations: PNI—Prognostic Nutritional Index; n—number of patients.