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Malnutrition is an imbalance between the growth and breakdown of body tissues and nutrient stores, resulting in loss of muscle and organ mass, diminished physical and mental functioning, and impaired clinical outcomes. Over the past 50 years, malnutrition has been increasingly recognized as a deleterious consequence of chronic and acute disease. On the basis of the cause of malnutrition, three subtypes are recognized: disease-related malnutrition in the absence of underlying inflammation, disease-related malnutrition with underlying inflammation, and starvation due to inadequate access to food (i.e., food insecurity) (shown in figure).    Malnutrition occurs in up to 10% of community-dwelling older people and contributes to morbidity and mortality. The two main pathologic pathways are nutrient deprivation and inflammation-induced tissue catabolism with anorexia.    Read “Malnutrition in Adults,” the latest Review Article in the Nutrition in Medicine series, by Tommy Cederholm, M.D., Ph.D., and Ingvar Bosaeus, M.D., Ph.D.: https://nej.md/3RY29gs 

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Figure 1. Diagnostic Overview of Malnutrition in Adults and Malnutrition Subcategories. 

Malnutrition in adults is confirmed according to phenotypic and etiologic criteria in persons who are identified through screening as being at risk for possible malnutrition. The three subtypes of malnutrition in adults are classified according to their underlying cause: disease-related malnutrition in the absence of underlying inflammation, disease-related malnutrition with underlying inflammation, and starvation due to inadequate access to food (i.e., food insecurity). 

Above image: 
Nutrition in Medicine Series 
Review Article | Malnutrition in Adults 
Tommy Cederholm, M.D., Ph.D., and Ingvar Bosaeus, M.D., Ph.D.

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