Experts warn of the risk of malnutrition in hospitalized patients with covid-19

Medical experts have warned today of the risk of malnutrition in patients hospitalized with coronavirus, among whom the prevalence of this situation is between 30 and 80 percent.

This warning has become clear during the celebration of the fourth edition of the National Congress of the Spanish Nutrition Federation (FESNAD), an event based in Zaragoza that is being held virtually this year and whose content has been altered by the pandemic. .

As reported by the organizers in a statement, symptoms of covid-19 such as loss of appetite, alteration of taste and smell and diarrhea can condition the patient when it comes to oral food intake and reduce their diet.

This situation, added to the respiratory problems caused by the virus in hospitalized patients, means, in the opinion of these experts, that there is a "clear risk" of malnutrition, which is worse in older patients with chronic diseases who are already malnourished.

According to the doctor specializing in endocrinology and nutrition and Vice President of FESNAD, Julia Ocón, the loss of muscle mass together with the lack of mobility causes functional and organic disability.

These symptoms, warns the specialist, "coupled with dysphagia due to not being able to chew food well, complicate the patient's situation by having very high nutrient needs, which requires them to consume a special diet."

A diet that, he added, "it is essential that it be easily digestible, following the pattern of a Mediterranean diet enriched with calories and proteins."

Furthermore, it has been stressed that to cover the nutritional requirements of these patients, supplements or shakes must be added that provide a greater caloric and protein dose.

Julia Ocón has also stated that nutritional recovery in a patient hospitalized with Covid-19, once the virus infection disappears, is at least three months, with the malnourished and obese having a worse prognosis with risk of mortality.

On the other hand, the presence of vitamin D in the body has also been the subject of debate in Congress at this scientific event, due to the reduction in its presence due to the effects of confinement.

As explained by the researcher in Physiopathy of Obesity and Nutrition at the Red Biomedical Research Center, Andrés Díaz-López, between 85% and 90% of the presence of this vitamin in the body comes from our exposure to the sun. and currently between 30% and 50% of the general world population are deficient in it.

In this context, the professor at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Marcela González Gross, has insisted that "there are factors directly related to nutrition that we have been denouncing for decades that are risk factors for mortality from coronavirus, such as micronutrient deficiency. ".

For this reason, it has been urged to follow the recommendations of a healthy diet such as the Mediterranean diet and to reinforce the intake of vitamin D with diet and specific supplements.