Calculating the cost of malnutrition

SUZANNE CALLANDER reports on an in-depth study which looks at the cost of disease-related malnutrition in England, as well as providing a budget impact analysis of implementing the NICE clinical guidelines/quality standard on nutritional support in adults.

In 2005, the UK became the first country to publish a report that estimated the cost of malnutrition.1 Following its publication, the budget for health and social care in the UK has progressively increased, resulting in a growing interest in the cost of malnutrition. An updated economic report was published in 2009.2 However, it was understood that the cost of malnutrition was probably being underestimated in both of these reports because of the omission of certain costs for which reliable data were lacking. 

In recent years, NHS expenditure has been very closely scrutinised with the view to making cost savings. Various publications and clinical standards – including the Care Quality Commission standards and the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) quality standard – have emphasised the importance of undertaking more nutritional screening to better recognise and identify and treat malnourished subjects.