Dietary preference for sweet foods in patients with dementia.
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.
Mungas
D
D
Department of Community Health, University of California, Davis School of Medicine, California.
Cooper
J K
JK
Weiler
P G
PG
Gietzen
D
D
Franzi
C
C
Bernick
C
C
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004041:Dietary Fats; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004041:Dietary Fats