Studies Find Heightened Death Risk Related to Malnutrition in Home Care and Hospice Settings

Malnutrition has been found to be a contributor to higher than average death rates among home care and hospice patients. This is according to a study reported by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. According to McKnight, the study, titled “Disparities in Place of Death Among Malnourished Individuals in the United States,” found that more than 31,000 malnutrition-related deaths occurred among home care and hospice patients between 1999 and 2020. Adults over 85 years old and women were found to be among the most likely to experience a malnutrition-related death while receiving home care or hospice. “While more deaths overall due to malnutrition occurred in medical facilities and nursing homes during the same time period,” McKnight quoted researchers as saying, “these settings may be better equipped to deal with patients suffering from malnutrition,” compared to  home and hospice care settings. A separate study also found that roughly half of all patients who died of thyroid cancer between 1999 and 2020 did so in home care or hospice. Patients between 65 and 84 years old were more likely, on average, to die in home settings.