Category: Dementia – Nutrition and Hydration

Persons living with dementia have many health concerns, including poor nutritional states. This narrative review provides an overview of the literature on nutritional status in persons diagnosed with a dementing illness or condition. Poor food intake is a primary mechanism for malnutrition, and there are many reasons why poor food intake occurs, especially in the middle and later stages of the dementing illness. Research suggests a variety of interventions to improve food intake, and thus nutritional status and quality of life, in persons with dementia. For family care partners, education programs have been the focus, while a range of intervention activities have been the focus in residential care, from tableware changes to retraining of self-feeding. It is likely that complex interventions are required to more fully address the issue of poor food intake, and future research needs to focus on diverse components. Specifically, modifying the psychosocial aspects of mealtimes is proposed as a means of improving food intake and quality of life and, to date, is a neglected area of intervention development and research.

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Aims Various eating-related problems are commonly observed among people with dementia, and these problems place a huge burden on the caregivers. An appropriate classification of these problems is important in order to understand their underlying mechanisms and to develop a therapeutic approach for managing them. The aim of this study was to develop a possible classification of eating-related problems and to reveal the background factors affecting each of these problems across various conditions causing dementia. Methods The participants were 208 institutionalized patients with a diagnosis of dementia. Care staff were asked to report all kinds of eating-related problems that they observed. After the nurses’ responses were analyzed, 24 items relating to eating-related problems were extracted. A factor analysis of these 24 items was conducted, followed by a logistic regression analysis to investigate the independent variables that most affected each of the eating-related factors. Results Four factors were obtained. Factor 1 was overeating, factor 2 was swallowing problems, factor 3 was decrease in appetite, and factor 4 was obsession with food. Each factor was associated with different background variables, including Mini-Mental State Examination scores, Clinical Dementia Ratings, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Conclusions This study suggests that eating-related problems are common across conditions causing dementia and should be separately considered in order to understand their underlying mechanisms.

Classifying eating-related problems among institutionalized people with dementia. (Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, Apr 2016, 70(4)) (Follow this link if you have an Athens password). Alternatively contact the UHSM Academy Library for a copy of the article or call 0161 291 5778)

Caring for someone with dementia can feel awfully hopeless, especially if you’re related to the one affected. With little available in terms of treatment and nothing whatsoever in terms of a cure, caregivers might be tempted to assume there’s not much they can do other than keep their loved one safe and calm. Setting those suppositions aside, though, can lead to meaningful gains for people with dementia, in both their quality of life and their physical health. As compiled from Prevention magazine, here are a few small steps you can take to help someone with dementia today.

Access the paper by clicking here 6 little ways to help someone with dementia

Many people aged over 65 in acute hospitals have dementia. When older people are ill, they are at increased risk of malnourishment because of reduced appetite.

The Academy Library does not currently subscribe to the journal that this article appears in, however we can most likely request it from another library. Please contact the UHSM Academy Library for more detail or call 0161 291 5778.

To explore the perceptions of staff caregivers regarding factors affecting optimal nutrition and hydration for individuals living in Specialised Dementia Care Units in New Zealand.

Factors affecting optimal nutrition and hydration for people living in specialised dementia care units: a qualitative study of staff caregivers’ perceptions (Follow this link if you have an Athens password). Alternatively contact the UHSM Academy Library for a copy of the article or call 0161 291 5778)

The aim of the present study was to investigate the proportion of physicians and nurses who agree with the administration of antibiotic therapy (AT), artificial hydration (AH), and artificial nutrition (AN) in patients with advanced dementia and different life expectations. Furthermore, we aimed at analysing the correlates of the opinion according to which medical treatments should no longer be given to advanced dementia patients once their life expectance falls.

Advanced dementia: opinions of physicians and nurses about antibiotic therapy, artificial hydration and nutrition in patients with different life expectancies (Follow this link if you have an Athens password). Alternatively contact the UHSM Academy Library for a copy of the article or call 0161 291 5778)