Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and associated predictors of malnutrition and to assess the ability of nurses to recognize malnutrition among elderly hospitalized patients in King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A total of 100 patients 60 years or older were recruited. Nurses were asked whether they considered patients as malnourished or not and their answers were then compared with the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF) scores for the same patients. According to the MNA-SF, 27% and 48% of the patients were malnourished and at risk of malnutrition, respectively. Only 11% of the patients with poor nutritional status were recognized by the nurses.