Abstract

Several studies have revealed that malnutrition is a common finding in hospitalized patients. The situation in our hospitals is not known. The objective of the present study was to compare serum albumin (ALB) among hospitalized, out-patients and apparently healthy subjects, with a view to assessing its status during hospitalization. Serum ALB concentrations were measured each in 50 of hospitalized and out-patients, as well as apparently healthy individuals. The data obtained were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 11.0) for Windows (SPSS, Chicago, IL). Student^'s t-test and one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were employed for the comparison of the results obtained from different groups of the subjects. A p-value of equal to or less than 0.05 (p ≤ 0.05) was considered as statistically significant. Serum ALB concentrations in hospitalized patients, out-patients and apparently healthy subjects were 35.88 ± 1.56, 39.70 ± 1.77 and 42.32 ± 1.34 g/L, respectively. The differences in these values between hospitalized patients and apparently healthy subjects were statistically significant (p < 0.01), while there were no significant differences between out-patients and apparently healthy subjects. It is concluded from the findings of this study that serum ALB concentrations were significantly lower in hospitalized patients than in apparently healthy subjects, while it is similar in out-patients and apparently healthy subjects. It is recommended that serum ALB concentrations be routinely measured as part of the assessment of nutritional status in hospitalized patients.

Key words: Serum albumin, assessment of nutritional status, hospitalized patients, out-patients, apparently healthy individuals.