Self-perceived skills in the diagnosis of hospital malnutrition, medical knowledge, and interest in nutrition: A cross-sectional study of medical residency programs.
| Title: | Self-perceived skills in the diagnosis of hospital malnutrition, medical knowledge, and interest in nutrition: A cross-sectional study of medical residency programs. |
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| Authors: | Cabral ELB; Internal Medicine Graduate Program, Universidade Professor Edson Antonio Velano, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Electronic address: eduardocabral01@gmail.com.; Moraes Dos Santos AL; Department of Nutrition, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Electronic address: analuizasoares17@gmail.com.; Ferracioli LS; Scientific initiation scholarship (CNPq), Universidade Professor Edson Antonio Velano, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.; Turci MA; Health Professions Education Master's Program, Universidade Professor Edson Antonio Velano, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.; Correia MITD; Surgery Graduate Program, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. |
| Source: | Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.) [Nutrition] 2026 Feb; Vol. 142, pp. 112991. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Oct 15. |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article; Multicenter Study |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: Elsevier Science Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 8802712 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1873-1244 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 08999007 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Nutrition Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Tarrytown, NY : Elsevier Science; Original Publication: [Burbank, Calif. : Nutrition, c1987- |
| MeSH Terms: | Malnutrition*/diagnosis ; Clinical Competence*/statistics & numerical data ; Nutritional Sciences*/education ; Physicians*/psychology ; Internship and Residency* ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice* ; Self Concept*; Humans ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Male ; Female ; Brazil ; Adult ; Nutrition Assessment ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Hospitals |
| Abstract: | Background: Nutrition education remains insufficient in medical curricula, despite its essential role in patient treatment.; Aims: We assessed resident physicians' interest in hospital malnutrition, their self-perceived ability to address it, and their knowledge of basic nutrition topics.; Methods: This multicenter cross-sectional study included medical residents from nine hospitals in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Participants completed a structured questionnaire on hospital malnutrition, covering demographics, self-perceived knowledge, interest, and objective knowledge. Descriptive analyses included medians, interquartile ranges, and frequency distributions. Comparative and graphical analyses were used to explore knowledge, interest, and perceived difficulties related to nutritional assessment and care.; Results: A total of 100 resident physicians participated in the study. Among them, 61.7% estimated that "Nutrition or Malnutrition" was covered in less than one academic period during medical school. Despite this, most residents rated the "nutritional assessment of hospitalized patients" as highly important (average score of 9.6). However, 73% reported difficulty in recognizing patients at nutritional risk, and 57% were unfamiliar with nutritional assessment techniques. Additionally, 61% were unable to develop nutritional therapeutic plans. Residents in surgical specialties had more difficulty identifying at-risk patients (93.6% versus 75.4%, P = 0.032). New residents felt more insecure about knowing nutritional assessment techniques (74.0% versus 51.8%, P = 0.035). The average nutrition knowledge score was low (6.02 ± 1.41).; Conclusion: Resident physicians from Brazil demonstrated a high level of interest in hospital malnutrition but most of them reported being unprepared to recognize, diagnose, and plan treatment for malnourished patients. This highlights the inadequacy of nutrition education during both medical school and postgraduate training.; (Copyright © 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: The MITDC receive consulting fees for Fresenius Kabi and Abbott Nutrition, Nestlé Nutrition, Baxter Nutrition, Takeda, Danone payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers’ bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events. The other authors don’t have conflict of interest. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Competencies; Malnutrition; Medical education; Nutrition |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20251120 Date Completed: 20251208 Latest Revision: 20260313 |
| Update Code: | 20260313 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.nut.2025.112991 |
| PMID: | 41265247 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
Journal Article; Multicenter Study