Background: Malnutrition has been linked to adverse health economic outcomes. There is a paucity of data on malnutrition in patients admitted with COVID-19. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study consisting of 4311 COVID-19 adult (18 years and older) inpatients at 5 Johns Hopkins-affiliated hospitals between 1 March and 3 December 2020. Malnourishment was identified using the malnutrition universal screening tool (MUST), then confirmed by registered dietitians. Statistics were conducted with SAS v9.4 (Cary, NC, USA) software to examine the effect of malnutrition on mortality and hospital length of stay among COVID-19 inpatient encounters, while accounting for possible covariates in regression analysis predicting mortality or the log-transformed length of stay. Results: COVID-19 patients who were older, male, or had lower BMIs had a higher likelihood of mortality. Patients with malnutrition were 76% more likely to have mortality (p < 0.001) and to have a 105% longer hospital length of stay (p < 0.001). Overall, 12.9% (555/4311) of adult COVID-19 patients were diagnosed with malnutrition and were associated with an 87.9% increase in hospital length of stay (p < 0.001). Conclusions: In a cohort of COVID-19 adult inpatients, malnutrition was associated with a higher likelihood of mortality and increased hospital length of stay. Full article

Children are prescribed second-generation antipsychotic (SGA) medications, such as olanzapine (OLZ) for FDA-approved and “off-label” indications. The long-term impact of early-life SGA medication exposure is unclear. Olanzapine and other SGA medications are known to cause excessive weight gain in young and adult patients, suggesting the possibility of long-term complications associated with the use of these drugs, such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Further, the weight gain effects of OLZ have previously been shown to depend on the presence of gut bacteria and treatment with OLZ, which shifts gut bacteria toward an “obesogenic” profile. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate changes in gut bacteria in adult mice following early life treatment with OLZ and being fed either a high-fat diet or a high-fat diet supplemented with fish oil, which has previously been shown to counteract gut dysbiosis, weight gain, and inflammation produced by a high-fat diet. Female and male C57Bl/6J mice were fed a high fat diet without (HF) or with the supplementation of fish oil (HF-FO) and treated with OLZ from postnatal day (PND) 37–65 resulting in four groups of mice: mice fed a HF diet and treated with OLZ (HF-OLZ), mice fed a HF diet and treated with vehicle (HF), mice fed a HF-FO diet and treated with OLZ (HF-FO-OLZ), and mice fed a HF-FO diet and treated with vehicle (HF-FO). Following euthanasia at approximately 164 days of age, we determined changes in gut bacteria populations and serum LPS binding protein, an established marker of gut inflammation and dysbiosis. Our results showed that male HF-FO and HF-FO-OLZ mice had lower body weights, at sacrifice, compared to the HF group, with a comparable body weight across groups in female mice. HF-FO and HF-FO-OLZ male groups also exhibited lower serum LPS binding protein levels compared to the HF group, with no differences across groups in female mice. Gut microbiota profiles were also different among the four groups; the Bacteroidetes-to-Firmicutes (B/F) ratio had the lowest value of 0.51 in the HF group compared to 0.6 in HF-OLZ, 0.9 in HF-FO, and 1.1 in HF-FO-OLZ, with no differences in female mice. In conclusion, FO reduced dietary obesity and its associated inflammation and increased the B/F ratio in male mice but did not benefit the female mice. Although the weight lowering effects of OLZ were unexpected, FO effects persisted in the presence of olanzapine, demonstrating its potential protective effects in male subjects using antipsychotic drugs. Full article

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) includes Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). The prevalence of both in pediatric populations has been constantly increasing. This study aimed to analyze the diet of adolescent patients with IBD in comparison to healthy controls and the current dietary standards for the Polish population to further their optimal supplementation regimen. The study group consisted of 53 patients (21 girls and 32 boys) with IBD (CD: n = 27; UC: n = 26) at a mean age of 15.4 ± 2.4 and 14.7 ± 2.2, years for girls and boys, respectively. The control group (CG) consisted of 20 patients, and 72 h of recall diaries on nutrition were collected. The nutritional data were analyzed in the Dieta 6D dietary program. When compared to Polish dietary standards, the largest differences girls with IBD and boys with IBD were found for the intake of energy (61.9 and 71.9%), iodine (61.9 and 62.6%), folates (76.2 and 87.5%), vitamin D (100 and 96.9%), potassium (61.9 and 59.4%), and calcium (85.7 and 93.8%). The overconsumption of saturated fatty acids (SFA) (61.9 and 56.3%) and sodium (76.2 and 90.6%) in girls and boys, respectively, was noted. In relation to girls with CG, girls with IBD showed a significantly higher intake of energy (1751. 3 vs. 1558.6 p = 0.0224), total protein (71.3 vs. 56.2 p = 0.0217), animal protein (47.8 vs. 34.5 p = 0.0183), total carbohydrates (237.3 vs. 196.1 p = 0.0442), and assimilable carbohydrates (219.8 vs. 180.5 p = 0.7921). Boys in the CG consumed significantly more calcium (851.8 vs. 432 p = 0.0006), phosphorus (1024.3 vs. 1357.5 p = 0.0431), lactose (11.6 vs. 6.1 p = 0.0016), and riboflavin (1.7 vs. 1.3 p = 0.0123) compared to boys with IBD. Dietician care should therefore be mandatorily provided alongside outpatient care. Based on our results, we suggest that supplementation with the selected components be considered. Full article