Prevalence of malnutrition in alcoholic and nonalcoholic medical inpatients: a comparative anthropometric study.

Available data on the nutritional status of alcoholics is controversial. The present study was conducted to assess the frequency of malnutrition in alcoholic inpatients. The objectives were to (1) compare anthropometric data of hospitalized alcoholic and nonalcoholic patients and (2) evaluate the association between alcoholism and protein-energy malnutrition. It was a cross-sectional comparative study including a stratified analysis to control for potential confounding factors. Alcoholics were identified as patients with a score from the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test ≥8 among patients admitted consecutively to the general wards of a department of internal medicine; they were matched for sex, age, and time of admission with nonalcoholic patients (Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test score ≤4). Nutritional status was assessed using weight, height, midarm circumference, and tricipital skinfold thickness values, which were then used to determine the Quetelet body mass index and the mid-arm muscle circumfer...