A new study, conducted by researchers from Ben-Gurion University (BGU) of the Negev in Israel, indicates that “acutely hospitalized” elderly patients may significantly benefit from individually tailored dietary treatments.

A total of 259 hospitalized adults who were at least 65 years old participated in the study. All of these individuals were considered to be nutritionally at risk. Between 40 and 50 percent of all hospital patients exhibit malnutrition, according to previous studies published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

Some of the patients met with a dietician upon their hospital admission, and were then visited in their home by the health expert after being discharged. The dieticians decided the appropriate treatment regarding food sources and recipes.

Meanwhile, another group of the participants – who were controls – did not receive this nutritional intervention. However, all of the subjects received follow up assessments for up to six months after their hospital discharge.

Within that time, the intervention group experienced a death rate of 3.8 percent, while the mortality rate was much higher among the controls – 11.6 percent.

Dr. Danit R. Shahar, one of the BGU researchers, said that “the results indicate that intense dietary treatment reduced mortality and can help reduce the need for re-hospitalization.”