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.
Bates
C J
CJ
MRC Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Cambridge CB1 9NL, UK. chris.bates@mrc-hnr.cam.ac.uk
Prentice
A
A
Finch
S
S
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