Assessment of malnutrition risk and its association with diabetes complications in hospitalised adult patients attending Marjan Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Objective: Malnutrition is common among hospitalised diabetic patients and may worsen clinical outcomes. This study assessed the prevalence of malnutrition risk using the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) and examined its association with diabetes‑related complications among hospitalised adults at Marjan Teaching Hospital, Iraq.

Methods: A hospital‑based analytical cross‑sectional study enrolled 200 adult patients with diabetes mellitus. Malnutrition risk was categorised using MUST (low=0, medium=1, high≥2). Associations with diabetes complications were analysed using chi‑square tests and multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for age, sex, diabetes duration, body mass index (BMI), HbA1c, and length of stay.

Results: Overall, 71.5% of patients were at low malnutrition risk, 14% at medium risk, and 14.5% at high risk. The prevalence of at least one diabetes‑related complication was 86.5%. MUST risk category was significantly associated with the presence of complications (p=0.046). Compared with the low‑risk group, medium‑risk (adjusted OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.11–0.96, p=0.042) and high‑risk (adjusted OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.14–1.08, p=0.071) patients had lower adjusted odds of complications. Insulin therapy and fair glycaemic control (HbA1c 7‑9%) were associated with higher malnutrition risk in unadjusted analyses.

Conclusion: Nearly 30% of hospitalised diabetic patients were at medium or high risk of malnutrition. Routine MUST screening is recommended to enable early nutritional intervention, particularly in resource‑limited settings.