Psychiatric Explanations of Poor Oral Intake: A Clinically Focused Review.

Background: Poor oral intake (POI) among medical-surgical inpatients can cause malnutrition and delay recovery due to medical consequences and the need for more invasive nutritional support. Many psychiatric conditions can cause POI; however, the role that psychiatric conditions play in POI has received limited attention to date.

Objective: This review aggregates available information on POI due to psychiatric conditions and provides a framework for the clinical approach to these conditions in hospitalized adult patients.