BACKGROUND & AIMS Disease-related malnutrition is common among hospitalized patients, but multicenter, system-level data on nutritional risk, GLIM-defined malnutrition, nutritional intake, and care processes remain limited. This study aimed to provide a regional benchmark of nutritional risk, GLIM-defined malnutrition, nutritional adequacy, and nutritional care process indicators among hospitalized adult patients with a hospital stay of ≥4 days at the time of data collection. METHODS This repeated multicenter point-prevalence study was conducted at seven public hospitals in the Capital Region of Denmark in September 2023 and 2025. Adult somatic inpatients with a hospital stay of ≥4 days were included. Nutritional risk was assessed using NRS-2002. Among patients at nutritional risk, we recorded GLIM-defined malnutrition, nutrition impact symptoms, estimated energy and protein requirements, dietary intake, route of nutritional support, and selected care process indicators. Adequate intake was defined as achieving ≥75% of both estimated energy and protein requirements. Differences in proportions were assessed using chi-square or Fisher's exact tests, as appropriate. Adjusted analyses were performed using multivariable logistic regression, with mixed-effects models accounting for clustering by hospital in the exploratory analyses. RESULTS A total of 1302 patients were included, of whom 800 (61%) were at nutritional risk. Among the 788 patients at nutritional risk with sufficient data for GLIM assessment, 396 (50.3%) fulfilled the GLIM criteria for disease-related malnutrition. These 396 patients represented 30.4% of the total study population. Nutrition impact symptoms were common, with 52% of patients with available data (343/658) reporting appetite-related symptoms, including nausea and vomiting. Despite a hospital stay of ≥4 days, only 33% achieved ≥75% of both estimated energy and protein requirements, and most patients received oral nutrition alone. Adequate intake varied substantially across hospitals, ranging from 11.8% to 49.4%. In exploratory analyses, both documented nutritional screening and documented estimation of nutritional requirements were associated with higher proportions achieving adequate intake, and these associations persisted after adjustment for audit year, age group, and BMI category. CONCLUSIONS Among hospitalized patients with a hospital stay of ≥4 days, nutritional risk was highly prevalent. Approximately half of patients at nutritional risk fulfilled the GLIM criteria for disease-related malnutrition, while only one-third of patients at nutritional risk achieved adequate energy and protein intake. Substantial inter-hospital variation may reflect differences in the implementation and organization of nutritional care. These findings support stronger integration of systematic nutritional screening, assessment, monitoring of nutritional intake, appropriate treatment escalation, and clearer organizational responsibility.
