Tackling undernutrition in the Asian healthcare setting: a Southeast Asian expert consensus.

Background And Objectives: Malnutrition is under-recognized and under-treated in Asia due to resource constraints, lack of awareness and knowledge among healthcare professionals and patients, and lack of standardized procedures for malnutrition management. While international guidelines for the management of malnutrition are available, they may not be easily applicable to the patient population and healthcare settings within Southeast Asia. This paper provides consensus recommendations, developed by the Regional Nutrition Working Group, to foster evidence-based nutritional care in Southeast Asia to improve patient outcomes.

Association Between Malnutrition and Depression Among Community-Dwelling Older Chinese Adults.

Malnutrition and depression are of important concern among older adults. We investigated the association between malnutrition and depression among community-dwelling older Chinese adults and how both affect health care costs. Data from 4916 older adults (age ≥60 years) collected as part of 2013-Wave II China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) survey were analyzed.

Taking action against malnutrition in Asian healthcare settings: an initiative of a Northeast Asia Study Group.

Malnutrition is common in Asia, especially among people who are critically ill and/or older. Study results from China, Japan, and Taiwan show that malnutrition or risk of malnutrition is found in up to 30% of communitydwelling people and as much as 50% of patients admitted to hospitals-with prevalence even higher among those older than 70 years. In Asia, malnutrition takes substantial tolls on health, physical function, and wellbeing of people affected, and it adds huge financial burdens to healthcare systems.