Mungas D, Cooper J K, Weiler P G, Gietzen D, Franzi C, Bernick C
Department of Community Health, University of California, Davis School of Medicine, California.
J Am Geriatr Soc. 1990 Sep;38(9):999-1007. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1990.tb04423.x.
Using a telephone survey, patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (n = 31) and vascular dementia (n = 14) were compared with elderly normal controls (n = 43) in preferences for different foods. Patients with Alzheimer's disease had a greater preference than normal controls for relatively high-fat, sweet foods and for high-sugar, low-fat foods, but did not significantly differ in preference for other foods, including those high in complex carbohydrates and protein. Vascular dementia patients showed a similar pattern, not significantly different from that for Alzheimer's patients. Results did not consistently support a hypothesis that increased sweet preference is a nonspecific form of disinhibited behavior related to declining mental status, nor was a hypothesis relating sweet preference to serotonin activity within the brain consistently supported. Results provide preliminary evidence that craving for sweet food may be a significant part of the clinical syndrome of dementia, but further research is needed to delineate the psychological and biological mechanisms accounting for it.
通过电话调查，对可能患有阿尔茨海默病的患者（n = 31）和血管性痴呆患者（n = 14）与老年正常对照组（n = 43）在不同食物偏好方面进行了比较。与正常对照组相比，阿尔茨海默病患者对相对高脂肪、甜食以及高糖、低脂肪食物的偏好更强，但在对其他食物（包括富含复合碳水化合物和蛋白质的食物）的偏好上没有显著差异。血管性痴呆患者表现出类似的模式，与阿尔茨海默病患者没有显著差异。研究结果并不一致支持这样一种假设，即对甜食偏好增加是与精神状态下降相关的一种非特异性的去抑制行为形式，也没有始终如一地支持将甜食偏好与大脑内血清素活性相关联的假设。研究结果提供了初步证据，表明对甜食的渴望可能是痴呆临床综合征的一个重要部分，但需要进一步研究来阐明其背后的心理和生物学机制。
