Hosted by the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN), Malnutrition Awareness Week (MAW) unites communities and experts in tackling this global, but neglected, health challenge. Every year, the event aims to promote awareness and education about disease-related malnutrition (DRM), monitor care quality, and advocate for transformative action.
This topic is a familiar one to the experts at Danone. In fact, its scientists supported over 25 scientific papers on malnutrition between January 2023 and September 2024 alone. And from November 11 to 15, the team is proud to be taking part in MAW 2024 – sharing just some of Danone Research & Innovation’s many contributions to scientifically addressing malnutrition, based on insights gathered from Hungary to the UK and beyond!
DRM: A threat too often overlooked
DRM occurs when nutrient intake or utilization is lacking in a patient who has another illness or infection. This can be caused by different factors, including metabolic or hormonal changes, loss of appetite, inadequate nutritional care, and the primary disease itself. In turn, malnutrition can hamper recovery and lead to negative consequences such as weight and skeletal-muscle loss, physical and mental dysfunction, and worsened clinical outcomes.
It is a serious and widespread problem: according to ESPEN, up to 50% of hospital patients, up to 10% of primary-care patients, and up to 60% of nursing-home patients experience DRM. But, with early diagnosis and tailored nutritional interventions, it is possible to improve outcomes and enhance people’s quality of life.
With its annual MAW event, ESPEN aims to promote these and other solutions to the DRM challenge. This year, Danone R&I is showcasing some of its recent papers on the subject, each making a valuable contribution to the collective scientific understanding of malnutrition and how to tackle it.
Longer treatment means better outcomes
The first paper under the Danone R&I spotlight at MAW is Positive correlation between persistence of medical nutrition therapy and overall survival in patients with head and neck cancer. Published in Pathology Oncology Research in March 2024, this Hungarian study showed the importance of early and persistent use of medical nutrition for cancer patients’ survival.
“We collected real-world data to help us investigate the correlation between survival and the duration of uninterrupted nutritional therapy,” explains author Andrea Molnar, Head of Medical Science & Market Access at Danone Hungary. “We found that medical nutrition therapy (MNT) for cancer patients isn’t optimal, in terms of either the number of patients being treated or the persistence of the MNT. Our research proves that patients receiving long-term (≥7 months) MNT had a significantly longer overall survival probability (p < 0.0001) than those who received it for a shorter duration. We therefore recommend reviewing and optimizing current practices, to enable better treatment outcomes and longer survival.”
Making targeted nutrition more palatable
The second paper being showcased by Danone R&I during MAW is A multi-center prospective study of plant-based nutritional support in adult community-based patients at risk of disease-related malnutrition, published in November 2023 in Frontiers in Nutrition. With an emerging need for vegan nutritional support to improve outcomes for patients at risk of malnutrition, this UK project investigated the effects of a new plant-based ONS.
“For a variety of reasons, such as diet, religion, sustainability, or health, many patients require or prefer a plant-based ONS,” says Marta Delsoglio, Clinical Research Manager and lead author on the paper. “Our study found that our ready-to-drink supplement was not only effective at reducing patients’ risk of malnutrition, but also – crucially – highly complied with and tolerated. This aligns well with broader efforts in the UK to tackle malnutrition while providing innovative, personalized approaches.”
World-renowned expertise; world-first insights
These provide just a snapshot of the work being done by Danone R&I’s experts to address malnutrition – work that’s frequently recognized for its contribution to the field and its impact on people. In fact, at the end of 2023, Rebecca Stratton, Europe Medical & Nutritional Science Director, was awarded the prestigious John Lennard-Jones Medal from the British Association for Parenteral & Enteral Nutrition (BAPEN) for her 25 years of outstanding achievements in this area. One of her recent projects was a systematic review exploring the impact of ONS consumption on patients with complications like wounds, ulcers, and infections.
“Our results showed a 30% reduction in complications in the patients who took an ONS compared to the control group, across age categories, settings, and patient populations,” Rebecca explains. “Plus, we were able to demonstrate two firsts: that ONSs can significantly benefit patients even in a community-only setting, and that high compliance and ready-to-drink liquid formats result in greater reductions in complications versus low compliance and powder formats.”
“Keep on caring, keep on acting”
Improving survival rates for cancer patients, making nutritional interventions more appealing, and reducing patient complications in community settings: these are just a few examples of the positive impact of our malnutrition research in a variety of regions and situations. And it is not just the Danone R&I team making a difference: Nutricia and Danone Nutricia Campus are also participating at MAW, empowering HCPs to act on malnutrition with their “Keep on caring, keep on acting” campaign.
Stay tuned for next year’s MAW – when Danone R&I will be sharing more insights about how its work is helping to turn knowledge into action to combat malnutrition!
Find out more about our latest research here, and learn about ESPEN’s Malnutrition Awareness Week 2024.
