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Aim: To (i) describe the prevalence of malnutrition among a cohort of central Australian, predominantly Indigenous, haemodialysis patients and (ii) determine the sensitivity and specificity of the Patient Generated Subjective Global Assessment total score for identification of malnutrition in these patients. Methods: Cross‐sectional observational study of all patients attending haemodialysis units within the Central Australia Health Service. Patients were assessed using the Patient‐Generated Subjective Global Assessment. Chi‐Square tests were used to determine the association between nutritional status and location, age and gender. Receiver Operator Characteristic curves were used to ascertain the predictive validity for malnutrition of the total score. Results: Indigenous patients comprised 98% of study haemodialysis patients (n = 249/253). One third were male, and 72% were aged between 30 and 59 years. Approximately 29% (74/253) were malnourished, and 93% (69/74) had a total score ≥ 4. The most frequently reported problems that kept malnourished patients from eating were early satiety (32%), no appetite (31%), diarrhoea (26%) and dental problems (24%). Money problems were reported by 32%, as were transport (20%) and depression (19%). The traditional tool cut off score of ≥9 had low sensitivity (50%) for detecting malnutrition. Instead, a score ≥ 3 is suggested due to a higher sensitivity (96%) and specificity (45%). Conclusion: Malnutrition was found to be common, and we suggest using a Patient‐Generated Subjective Global Assessment total score of ≥3 to improve the identification of malnourished individuals in this cohort of predominantly Indigenous haemodialysis patients. This will significantly increase referrals for dietetic intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate the association between nutritional and functional status of Alzheimer's disease patients and caregivers' burden. Methods: A cross‐sectional study was conducted among 79 community‐dwelling Alzheimer's disease patients living with their caregivers. Caregivers' burden was assessed using the Zarit Burden‐Interview. Multinomial logistic regressions were carried out using caregivers' burden as the dependent variable. Results: Caregivers' severe overload was strongly associated with weight loss of more than 3 kg during the previous 3 months (OR = 7.34; 95% CI: 2.02‐26.65), lower values of calf girth (OR = 3.20; 95% CI: 1.03‐9.93), sarcopenia status (OR = 3.50; 95% CI: 1.09‐11.22), and lower gait speed values (OR = 3.83; 95% CI: 1.18‐12.47). Otherwise, overweight or obesity (OR = 0.21; 95% CI: 0.05‐0.83), was related to lower odds of higher caregivers' burden. Conclusion: In community‐dwelling older adults with Alzheimer's disease, the nutritional and functional status impairments were strongly associated with increasing caregivers' burden, whereas overweight conferred protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]