The effect of nutritional intervention in elderly subjects residing in group-living for the demented

Objectives: We studied the nutritional status and the effects of nutritional intervention on body weight, cognition and activities of daily life (ADL)-function in demented individuals. Design: Controlled non-randomised study. Setting: Group-living for demented elderly (GILD), ie community assisted housing. Subjects and interventions: Twenty-two residents living in one of two units (GILD-1), received oral liquid supplements (1720 kJ/410 kcal/day) and the personnel of the GLD-I were given nutritional education. Fourteen residents in the other unit (GLD-C) served as controls. After 6 months 21 (83 (4) y, 81% women) and 12 (85 (4) y, 100% women) of the participants, respectively, were re-examined according to body mass index (BMI, kg/[m.sup.2]), cognitive function (Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE, 0-30 p) and Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR) and the Katz&apos; ADL index. Results: Body mass index (BMI) < 20 was found in 19% of the participants and 44% had BMI [less than or equal to] 23. BMI correlated with MMSE (r=0.43, P Conclusions: Being underweight was common among demented elderly in group-living and was related to low cognitive capacity. Five months of oral supplementation, along with education of personnel, was followed by a weight gain. In this study the nutritional treatment did not affect the rate of decline in cognitive function or Katz&apos; ADL index. Sponsorship: Supported by grants from the Swedish National Board of Health and Social Welfare. Semper Foods AB provided the liquid supplements. DOI: 10.1038/sj/ejcn/1601304 Keywords: aged; dementia; housing for the elderly; nutritional status; oral supplements
Introduction The mean life expectancy and the proportion of elderly in the population will continue to increase during coming decades. As a consequence, the occurence of age-related diseases, eg dementia [...]