LATEST ADVANCES IN NUTRITION: ESPEN 2024 NEWS AND PUBLICATIONS

New ESPEN Fact Sheet on Muscle Mass Assessment in Malnutrition Diagnosis

ESPEN has released a new fact sheet that is very important for healthcare professionals working in the diagnosis of malnutrition. This guide (ESPEN factsheet_GLIM MUSCLE) focuses on how to accurately assess muscle mass, which is essential for applying the GLIM criteria (which help identify malnutrition). The new fact sheet complements a previous one that dealt with inflammation. Now, it emphasizes the need to consider both muscle mass and inflammatory markers to make more precise diagnoses and improve medical care for patients with chronic diseases. Additionally, this publication highlights the importance of conducting a comprehensive and detailed assessment to achieve better health outcomes. It provides practical recommendations and expert consensus on how to assess inflammation in the context of malnutrition, detailed in a guide published in the journal Clinical Nutrition in 2024.

Disease-related malnutrition: a time for action

The factsheet “Disease-related malnutrition: a time for action“, endorsed by ESPEN – European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism and WHO Regional Office for Europe, has been released.

At the ESPEN 2024 Congress, a session between WHO Europe and ESPEN highlighted the critical issue of disease-related malnutrition (DRM), particularly affecting elderly patients and those with chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes. The session, revealed that 30-50% of hospitalized patients suffer from malnutrition, often going unnoticed. Key recommendations from the session included the integration of nutritional care into primary healthcare systems and hospitals, promoting early nutritional interventions to reduce complications and costs. Experts also called for a collaborative approach among dietitians, doctors, and other healthcare professionals to improve diagnosis and treatment, as well as enhancing education and training for healthcare workers to better manage malnutrition.