Nutritional status of elderly dementia patients in a memory clinic and analysis of related factors / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To assess the nutritional status of elderly patients with dementia in a memory clinic and to identify patients with malnutrition and patients at risk for malnutrition.Methods:A total of 510 elderly dementia patients were recruited from a memory clinic of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University.All subjects were assessed with the mini-nutritional assessment short-form(MNA-SF), mini-mental state examination(MMSE), activities of daily living scale(ADL)and neuropsychiatric inventory(NPI). Logistic regression was used to explore potential risk factors and to establish a prediction model.Results:13.33%(68/510)of participants were classified as being malnourished, 52.94%(270/510)as being at risk for malnutrition and 33.73%(172/510)as well nourished.A Logistic regression model for predicting malnutrition identified dysphagia, irritability, physical self-maintenance scale(PSMS), appetite and eating disorders as important influencing factors( OR=4.334, 1.096, 1.121, 1.213, all P<0.05), and MMSE score, family history of dementia and age were important influencing factors for predicting malnutrition/at risk for malnutrition( OR=0.923, 0.517, 1.045, all P<0.05). Conclusions:The incidence of malnutrition and the risk of malnutrition in elderly patients with dementia in the memory clinic are high, and there are many related influencing factors.Early detection and intervention can delay or avoid malnutrition.