The Tea and Toast Syndrome is a cause of malnutrition in the elderly.
Features of the tea and toast syndrome:
(1) Toast and tea is a frequent meal.
(2) One or more meals may be skipped with some frequency.
(3) The person may fail to eat regular meals.
Contributing factors:
(1) social isolation
(2) depression
(3) low income
(4) medical illness and/or medications
(5) physical and/or mental disability
(6) poor dentition
(7) alcohol or substance abuse
(8) loss of taste and/or smell
Complications:
(1) hyponatremia, especially if the patient is on diuretics
(2) vitamin deficiency
(3) protein malnutrition
