title: Hyperphagia in dementia: 1. The use of an objective and reliable method for measuring hyperphagia in people with dementia.
abstract: Up to one third of dementia sufferers eat an increased quantity of food, compared with their premorbid intake, at some stage during the dementia. A proportion of these eat extraordinarily large quantities if food intake is not restricted. In order to investigate this phenomenon in detail, a reliable and standardized method of quantifying the degree of hyperphagia is required. We report the development of such a method. Twenty-six people with dementia, who were reported by their carers to be hyperphagic, were compared with 14 matched non-hyperphagic controls with dementia and 14 matched normal elderly. Subjects were offered two standardized meals, under specified conditions, ad libitum. One meal consisted of a single food, the other of a mixture of foods. The total energy intake provided a reliable measure of the degree of hyperphagia. The single food meal was more reliable but the mixed meal was a more sensitive measure of the hyperphagia.
authors.affiliation: University of Oxford, Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, U.K.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Keene
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hope
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D003704:Dementia / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy; D004435:Eating; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D005853:Geriatrics / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D006963:Hyperphagia / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009753:Nutritive Value; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents