Food habits and intake of nutrients in elderly patients with Parkinson's disease.
BACKGROUND
Weight loss is reported frequently in patients with Parkinson s disease also early during the disease.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate food habits and nutrient intake in elderly Parkinson s disease patients compared with matched controls, as well as to compare PD patients with and without weight loss.


METHODS
Twenty-six elderly free-living patients with PD, and 26 sex- and age-matched healthy controls, were assessed twice with one year interval between. All food consumed was recorded over 3 consecutive days. Food habits were assessed with the Food Based Concept for Classification of Eating Episodes and intakes of energy and nutrients were calculated. PD symptoms, olfaction, swallowing function, daily activities and serum concentration of different nutrients were investigated.


RESULTS
After 1 year, the PD patients decreased their intakes of daily high quality snacks from 0.5 +/- 0.7 to 0.3 +/- 0.3 (p < 0.05) and their prepared complete meals from 0.8 +/- 0.3 to 0.6 +/- 0.3 (p < 0.05), while their daily number of prepared incomplete meals increased from 0.2 +/- 0.2 to 0.3 +/- 0.3 (p < 0.01). PD patients with weight loss increased their daily intakes of fat by 12 +/- 34 g and their energy intake per kg body weight increased by 21 +/- 31 kJ (p < 0.05), respectively, and this was higher than in those without weight loss (p < 0.01). PD patients required more help with buying and cooking food compared with the controls.


CONCLUSIONS
PD patients' food habits changed so that they consumed a lower number of prepared complete meals. PD patients with weight loss had a higher intake of fat and energy than those without weight loss, although this was obviously not sufficient to prevent weight loss. Impaired absorption of fat in PD should be discussed.
Lorefät
B
B
Department of Medicine and Care, Division of Nursing Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Sweden. birgitta.lorefalt@imv.liu.se
Ganowiak
W
W
Wissing
U
U
Granérus
A-K
AK
Unosson
M
M
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D015431:Weight Loss