Nutritional Status of Patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Their Caregivers

Background: Malnutrition is one of the most important conditions that negatively affects the health of elder people, particularly in patients with dementia. Objective: To provide an assessment of nutritional status of patients affected by Alzheimer's disease (AD) living at home and of their caregivers by means of Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), and to explore the influence of different factors on nutrition. Methods: 90 patients affected by AD living at home and 90 age-and sex-matched caregivers were enrolled. Patients and caregivers, coming from an urban-rural fringe of Southern Italy, were assessed using full MNA, Mini-Mental State Examination, Geriatric Depression Scale-short form, Activity of Daily Living, and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scales. Results: Malnutrition was found with high prevalence in patients affected by AD of different severity (more than 95% of patients were malnourished or at risk of malnutrition), and associated with reduced functional status. An altered nutrition was also recognized with high rate in the group of caregivers (23.3% were malnourished and 41.1% at risk of malnutrition) and the worse nutritional condition was correlated with higher age and lower functional and cognitive status and education. A positive correlation between MNA score of AD patients and caregivers was found. Conclusion: Corrective measures should be taken in order to early identify nutritional deficiencies and risk of malnutrition observed with high rate in both groups of AD patients and their caregivers; in these subjects a nutrition education program and intervention policies are mandatory to restore nutritional status.