Nutritional characteristics of people with impaired mental capacity from a nationally representative survey of British people aged 65 years and over.
BACKGROUND
Mentally impaired older people are frequently excluded from population surveys for practical reasons; thus their nutritional characteristics are poorly delineated.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the nutritional characteristics of those who, through mental impairment, were considered to require proxy consent and/or proxy information-givers, within a National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) of people aged 65 years and over, in the UK.


METHODS
2043 participants in the NDNS in mainland Britain during 1994-95 were studied. Proxy consent and/or proxy information was provided by the next-of-kin or a carer for 3% of people living in the community and for 35% of people in institutions. A four-day weighed diet estimate and a single blood sample for nutritional status and clinical chemistry indices were obtained.


RESULTS
Inclusion of people requiring proxy consent and/or information was acceptable to NHS local research ethics committees. These participants differed in certain food choices, nutrient intakes and biochemical status indices, from those not requiring a proxy. They ate more sugary and milky foods. They had lower blood concentrations of haemoglobin, retinol, cholesterol; and higher plasma levels of urea and creatinine.


CONCLUSIONS
Older people who require proxy consent or information-givers can be studied in population surveys. They are nutritionally vulnerable and may need special assistance to ensure acceptable nutritional intake and status.
MRC Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Cambridge CB1 9NL, UK. chris.bates@mrc-hnr.cam.ac.uk
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Bates
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Prentice
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Finch
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis; D004435:Eating; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009752:Nutritional Status; D019727:Proxy; D006113:United Kingdom