Mortality risks of body mass index and energy intake trajectories in institutionalized elderly people: a retrospective cohort study.

Elderly people in the current study presented a tendency toward decreasing BMI starting 60 months prior to death even if EI per BW remained constant. In the 1 year before death, EI per BW rapidly decreased. When the rate of change of EI per BW exceeded the rate of decrease of BMI, it was considered to be the point of no return when death was imminent. Our study showed that identifying mortality risks from the relationship between the trajectories of the two parameters that were continuously measured for several months to years is possible.