Clinical and financial implications of hospital malnutrition in Spain.

The prevalence of malnutrition is over 20%, with the elderly patients being the most affected. Nutritional screening is not implanted in all Spanish hospitals in spite of its proven cost-effectiveness. The cost and the clinical implications of malnutrition make this disease a health national problem. The knowledge of the real cost of AN treatment would increase the interest of public institutions on the development of specific Nutritional Screening tools for an early detection of AN.