Spaccavento Simona, Del Prete Marina, Craca Angela, Fiore Pietro
IRCCS Salvatore Maugeri Foundation, Via per Mercadante Km 2, I-70020 Cassano Murge (Bari), Italy.
Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2009 May-Jun;48(3):356-60. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2008.03.002. Epub 2008 Apr 29.
Nutrition is an important issue for elderly people, especially in patients with dementia. It is also related to clinical outcome, such as cognition, autonomy and behavior. The present study investigated the role of nutritional status on cognitive, functional and neuropsychiatric deficits in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Forty-nine patients underwent neuropsychological, nutritional and neuropsychiatric assessments. The sample was divided into at risk of malnutrition (21 patients) and well-nourished (28 patients) according to the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) score. The groups were similar for clinical and demographic variables, except for MNA score and age. The mean body mass index (BMI) was higher than the normal range. Patients at risk of malnutrition showed greater impairment, both in simple and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL and IADL) and a more severe ideomotor praxis deficit than well-nourished patients. Neuropsychiatric symptoms showed significant differences in hallucination, apathy, aberrant motor behavior and night-time subscales of Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). These symptoms were more severe in patients at risk of malnutrition. Logistic regression analysis showed that malnutrition was an important risk factor for the onset of apathy. We hypothesized that changes in dietary habits and intake and the onset of these disorders reflect the involvement of a common neuroanatomical network.
营养对于老年人来说是一个重要问题，尤其是对于患有痴呆症的患者。它还与临床结果相关，如认知、自主性和行为。本研究调查了营养状况在阿尔茨海默病（AD）患者认知、功能和神经精神缺陷中的作用。49名患者接受了神经心理学、营养和神经精神评估。根据微型营养评定法（MNA）评分，样本被分为营养不良风险组（21名患者）和营养良好组（28名患者）。除了MNA评分和年龄外，两组在临床和人口统计学变量方面相似。平均体重指数（BMI）高于正常范围。营养不良风险患者在日常生活的简单和工具性活动（ADL和IADL）中表现出更大的损伤，并且比营养良好的患者存在更严重的观念运动性运用障碍。神经精神症状在幻觉、冷漠、异常运动行为和神经精神科问卷（NPI）的夜间分量表方面存在显著差异。这些症状在营养不良风险患者中更为严重。逻辑回归分析表明，营养不良是冷漠发作的一个重要危险因素。我们推测饮食习惯和摄入量的变化以及这些障碍的发作反映了一个共同神经解剖网络的参与。
