China Nutrition Fundamental Data 2022

Malnutrition caused by reduced food intake or assimilation and varying degrees of acute or chronic inflammation is a serious and underappreciated risk factor for adverse clinical outcomes. Despite the substantial health and economic burden, malnutrition remains to affect a considerable proportion of hospitalized patients worldwide. Nationally representative studies from the USA, Australia, and European countries have reported prevalence figures in the range of 8.9% to 80.4%. However, national data in some resource-poor countries, such as China, the largest developing country in the world, are scarce.

During 2020 to 2022, the investigators conducted the China Nutrition Fundamental Data 2020 (CNFD 2020). This project provides a reference for nutritional risk assessment, malnutrition diagnosis, and treatment criteria for hospitalized patients in China. This project also provides data to promote the construction of clinical nutrition departments and improve the nutritional status of hospitalized patients. Thus, the investigators plan to conduct the China Nutrition Fundamental Data 2022 in a large, nationally representative sample of Chinese adult inpatients to 1) To further explore the relationship between nutrition and health; 2) To further understand the capacity of nutrition services in Chinese medical institutions.

This project will adopt a multistage, stratified, cluster-sampling procedure based on administrative divisions in China. For each participant, a structured interview will be done by trained nutritionists or clinicians. The following data will be acquired: weight change within and beyond six months, food intake change within two weeks, nutrition therapy during this hospitalization, Karnofsky score, clinical outcome, total hospitalization costs, and laboratory tests. The investigators will also collect information on participants' sociodemographic characteristics and medical history. The investigators will take physical measurements, including height, weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, mid-arm circumference, calf circumference, handgrip strength, and blood pressure following standard protocols. Body composition will be measured using bioimpedance analysis (BIA).

In addition, the investigators plan to collect information on the number of beds, the nutrition support team, the nutrition treatment plan and the construction of a full-time nutrition physician or nutrition nurse, the routine monitoring methods, interventions, and distribution of brochures for patients with malnutrition or nutritional risk in each project hospital.