www.european-nutrition.org
STOP Disease related Malnutrition: Prague Declaration June 2009
22 June 2009
On 11th June ENHA joined with the Czech Presidency of the EU, EU health ministries, ESPEN, health care professionals and health insurance groups to call for an end to malnutrition. Malnutrition, including disease related malnutrition are urgent public health problems and action need to be taken to prevent malnutrition continuing to compromise quality of life, cause unnecessary morbidity and mortality and continue to undermine the effectiveness of European health care systems.
The Czech Presidency of the EU invited leading experts in healthcare and health policy from across Europe to meet in Prague on 11-12 June 2009 to address the urgency of tackling this issue. This initiative follows the adoption of two resolutions by the European Parliament in 2008 urging the European Commission ‘to take a more holistic approach to nutrition and make malnutrition, alongside obesity, a key priority in the field of health, incorporating it whenever possible into EU-funded research, education and health promotion initiatives and EU-level partnerships.’ In addition, the European Parliament called on ‘Member States, along with regional and local authorities, to use the cooperation mechanism to improve the exchange of best practice’ and called on the Commission ‘to be pro-active in producing guidelines and recommendations based on such good practice’.
Despite significant medical advances, inadequate nutrition remains a significant and highly prevalent public health problem of developed countries. Whereas the focus of health policy and research efforts in recent years has been on obesity (or overnutrition), undernutrition –more generally captured under the term ‘malnutrition’ – represents an equally significant health and economic burden on society. According to European prevalence figures on malnutrition, 5-15% of Europeans living in the community, 40% of patients admitted to hospital and 60% of nursing home residents are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition.
Like obesity, malnutrition is not only an important health problem in itself; it also seriously compromises the outcomes of other underlying conditions such as cancer or cardiovascular disease. Malnutrition may delay recovery and prolong hospitalisation; lead to increased susceptibility to infection; impede individuals’ independence and quality of life; and even increase the risk of death in many patients.
Certain groups, particularly older people, are more vulnerable to malnutrition. As today’s older population is, in general, fitter and more active than previous generations, an increasing amount of treatment options (hip and knee replacements, invasive cancer treatments or cardiac surgery) are being made available to older patients. As a result, medical treatment outcomes are often severely compromised because inadequate attention is paid to the risk of ongoing malnutrition and muscle wasting that may negatively impact the effectiveness of treatment in these patients. All too often, older patients - in spite of “successful” treatment of the underlying disease – find themselves unable to go home and have protracted stays in hospitals or care homes that can sometimes lead to death.
This unfortunate situation can easily be remedied and prevented by instituting across all care settings - for individuals of all ages - thorough and appropriate nutritional prevention and care.
Prevention of the root causes of malnutrition must be dealt within the community and treatment of malnutrition must become a key component of good clinical practice for all conditions.
Research has suggested that appropriate interventions for malnutrition not only significantly reduce patient morbidity and increase survival, but also lead to substantial savings by avoiding unnecessary spending on care that does not achieve the desired health outcome.
A pdf copy and action points can be downloaded below
PRESS COVERAGE:
NieuwsBank: http://www.nieuwsbank.nl/en/2009/06/12/u002.htm
SFNEP: http://www.european-nutrition.org/files/pdf_pdf_67.pdf
