Development and purpose
Malnutrition can occur even when body mass index is not low. Reduced dietary intake and unintentional weight loss are useful early signals. Maree Ferguson, Sandra Capra, Judith Bauer and Merrilyn Banks developed MST; their validation study was published in Nutrition in 1999.
What the method assesses
MST considers unintentional weight loss and reduced food intake related to poor appetite. A score of at least two indicates malnutrition risk in the original system and the need for further assessment. This is a screening result rather than a clinical diagnosis; it does not establish the cause or severity of malnutrition.
The instrument was developed in Australia in English. Translation, answer thresholds and performance in different populations need careful consideration; an independently translated interface is not automatically validated.
Copyright and electronic use
Abbott Nutrition's published terms state that MST was reproduced with permission from Dr Maree Ferguson and Elsevier. This does not grant automatic rights for other websites to reproduce the questionnaire.
For clinical use, consult the source form made available by ASPEN and apply it together with appropriate local protocols and professional judgement.
Sources and rights
- MST original form hosted by ASPEN ↗
- Abbott Nutrition terms, section 12 ↗
- Ferguson et al. (1999), original study ↗
This independent educational page does not reproduce the questionnaire or imply endorsement.