Nutritional Management in Dementia

ABSTRACT

With the increase in lifespan, and consequent increase in the elderly population, the prevalence of dementia is also increasing. The prevalence of dementia in the elderly over 65 in Korea was 10.3% in 2020 and is expected to increase to 16.1% by 2050.Dementia is a cognitive decline that affects eating behavior, leading to weight loss and malnutrition. In fact, the prevalence of malnutrition has been rising, and has been reported to be 58.9% among dementia patients in community facilities. Dementia requires the intake of sufficient calories and protein to prevent weight loss. On the other hand, intake of certain nutrients, such as omega-3 fatty acids, thiamine, vitamin E, selenium, and copper, helps prevent dementia in healthy people but has no effect on patients with advanced dementia. As dementia worsens, if food intake is reduced, oral nutritional supplements and enteral nutrition should be initiated to prevent weight loss and malnutrition. Dementia patients are very vulnerable to malnutrition, and hence require more active nutritional support.