Many older patients in the emergency department are either malnourished or at risk for malnutrition, according to a recent study.

However, this is not because of lack of access to health care, critical illness or dementia. Despite clear signs of malnutrition or risk of malnutrition, more than three-quarters had never previously been diagnosed with malnutrition.

"Malnutrition is known to be a common problem among older adults. What is surprising in our study is that most of the malnourished patients had never been told that they were malnourished," Timothy F. Platts-Mills, lead author of the study, said in a statement.

For the study, researchers from the University of North Carolina collected data from more than 100 adults age 65 and older who sought treatment in the emergency department at UNC Hospitals during an 8-week period. All were patients with no cognitive impairments, who were not critically ill and did not live in a nursing home or skilled nursing facility.

Researchers found that of patients age 65 and older, 16 percent were malnourished and 60 percent were either malnourished or at risk for malnutrition. Of the malnourished patients, 77 percent denied having been previously diagnosed with malnutrition.

Malnutrition was highest among patients with symptoms of depression (52 percent), those residing in assisted living (50 percent), those with difficulty eating (38 percent) and those reporting difficulty buying groceries (33 percent). Difficulty eating was mostly attributed to denture problems, dental pain or difficulty swallowing.

Researchers found no significant differences in the prevalence of malnutrition between men and women, across levels of education or between those living in urban versus rural areas. However, the prevalence of malnutrition was higher among patients who reported having depressive symptoms, difficulty eating or difficulty buying groceries.

The findings were recently published in Annals of Emergency Medicine.