Malnutrition among the elderly
Published: 28 Dec 2017
Malnutrition among elderly is a serious health issue, and SingHealth had recently announced the launch of a new study to help undernourished elderly in Singapore. Assoc Prof Ng Tze Pin, research director in the Department of Psychological Medicine at NUS Medicine, commented on the significance of this new interventional study.
“Numerous studies show that malnutrition leads to increased severity of disease and disability, length of hospitalisation stay and healthcare costs, poor quality of life and increased mortality,” said Assoc Prof Ng. “It is a paradox of the present time that while we are relentlessly combating obesity and diabetes, under-nutrition among the elderly has been under the radar for a long time. It is good that a new study now focuses attention again on this under-recognised and under-managed problem.”
The study is a collaboration between Changi General Hospital and SingHealth Polyclinics with healthcare firm Abbott. It aims to discover the nutritionals that will improve the health of the elderly population and reduce length of hospitalisation stay among malnourished elderly.
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