Screening for malnutrition in hospitalised older people: Comparison of the Mini Nutritional Assessment with its short-form versions

Objective: To determine how well the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) Short Form (MNA-SF) performed as a nutritional screening tool when calf circumference replaced body mass index (BMI) as the included anthropometric measurement.

Methods: A total of 100 patients ≥70 years were recruited from a Geriatric Evaluation and Management Unit.

Results: Mean age of patients was 85.2 (6.1) years. By the full MNA, 40% of patients were malnourished. The MNA correlated highly with both of its short-form versions (r = 0.87 and r = 0.90 for the BMI and calf circumference versions, respectively). Both MNA-SF versions also showed high accuracy in identifying malnutrition (auROC values >0.89).

Conclusions: The MNA-SF is a rapid and accurate way to screen for malnutrition in hospitalised older adults. Substitution of BMI measurement with the time-efficient calf circumference measurement maintained MNA-SF accuracy. It is recommended that calf circumference measurement be used for nutritional screening by MNA-SF in a hospital setting.