TOPLINE:

The rate of mortality from malnutrition was higher in adults aged 75 years or older than in those aged between 65 and 74 years and increased in both groups over a period of 19 years. The rates varied by geography, race, and ethnicity.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers analyzed data from death records and population estimates from 2000 to 2019 to assess the rates of mortality due to malnutrition and how they varied by county and population group.
• They included 3110 counties and five distinct populations grouped by age, race, and ethnicity.
• Deaths from protein-energy malnutrition were identified through diagnostic codes.

TAKEAWAY:

• Over the 19 years, the rate of mortality from malnutrition increased by 29.7 deaths per 100,000 individuals in those aged 75 years or older and by 2.4 deaths per 100,000 individuals in those aged 65-74 years.
• Among those aged 75 years or older, Black individuals had the highest rate of mortality from malnutrition in 2019 (60.8 per 100,000 individuals), followed by American Indian/Alaska Native individuals (56.9 per 100,000 individuals); Black individuals also had the highest rate of mortality from malnutrition among those aged 65-74 years, and Asian individuals had the lowest rates in both age groups.
• County-level rates of mortality from malnutrition in those aged 75 years or older ranged from 4.9 to 308.9 deaths per 100,000 individuals in 2019; counties with the highest rates included Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Utah, among others.
• Most counties with the highest rates of mortality from malnutrition among Black and White individuals aged 75 years or older were metropolitan (59.1% and 62.5%, respectively), and at least half of the counties with the highest rates among American Indian/Alaska Native and Latino individuals were nonmetropolitan.

IN PRACTICE:

“Refining strategies for screening, detection, evaluation, and provision of nutritional support within healthcare and community settings may significantly reduce mortality rates associated with malnutrition, especially in rural areas. Engaging communities meaningfully and expanding community-based nutrition education and support programs may help mitigate many underlying causes of malnutrition,” the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Juliana Teruel Camargo, of the Division of Intramural Research, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. It was published online on September 12, 2025, in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

LIMITATIONS:

Data on deaths, covariates, and population counts might be inaccurate. Methods used to correct misclassification of race and ethnicity could have been imperfect. Combining Asian and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander groups may have been influenced by the larger Asian population size.

DISCLOSURES:

This study received support from several sources, including the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the National Institute on Aging. The authors declared having no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.