Timely News for the Multidisciplinary Care Team

Abstract

### Malnutrition Worsens Mortality Risk in Older Adults With Diabetes Malnutrition in older adults can be a problem, but when it’s combined with diabetes, it can dramatically increase mortality risk and health care costs, according to Ahmed et al. ( BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care , doi.org/gc2jqw). As a result, the authors suggest that identifying and treating patients with malnutrition should be a priority in diabetes care for older adults. The conclusion comes from a retrospective observational study of >15 million diabetes patients that looked at the impact of malnutrition in diabetes with or without a range of significant comorbidities. The authors identified just over 800,000 diabetes patients who had an additional diagnosis of malnutrition and found that the patients had a 69% higher risk of death compared to diabetes patients without malnutrition. Patients who had diabetes, malnutrition, and another significant comorbidity also had significantly higher risks of death compared to those without malnutrition, ranging from a 47% higher risk with acute myocardial infarction to a 63% higher risk with ischemic heart disease. Higher risks of death were also associated with chronic kidney disease, heart failure, stroke/transient ischemic attack, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Median survival time from diabetes diagnosis to time of death was reportedly just under 2.5 years when malnutrition was present compared to just over 5 years in patients without malnutrition. On the secondary outcome of health care costs, the authors found an average annual cost of just over $36,000 for patients with diabetes and malnutrition compared to just over $20,000 for those with diabetes but no malnutrition. Bottom line? They conclude that concerted efforts are needed to identify and treat malnutrition in patients with diabetes. ### Study Confirms Success of a Consultation Model for Diabetes Care A study by Rutten and van Vugt et al. ( Diabetes Care , doi.org/ck5w) on the implementation of the Dutch Diabetes Federation’s consultation model of diabetes care suggests that the approach can …