RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of malnutrition in the Buddhist Priest Patients on admission to Priest Hospital. MATERIAL AND METHOD: During September 2007, 97 Buddhist Priest admitted to Priest Hospital were assessed for their nutritional status by using Subjective global assessment (SGA) and Body mass index (BMI). Serum albumin, hematocrit, and total lymphocyte count (TLC) were also evaluated. RESULT: The status of Protein-calorie malnutrition was found to be 41.3% due to subjective global assessment and 39.2% due to body mass index. Overweight patient found to be 16.5%. There were 16.5%, 83.5% and 20.6% of patients who had serum albumin, hematocrit, and total lymphocyte count below acceptable level. CONCLUSION: Malnutrition status in priests admitted to the Priest Hospital should be concerned and be properly managed for improved clinical outcome.