title: Nutritional status of community-dwelling older people with dementia: associations with individual and family caregivers' characteristics.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to explore the associations of individual characteristics of both older people with dementia and family caregivers with the nutritional status of older people with dementia.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study comprising 56 community-dwelling older persons with dementia and 56 family caregivers was conducted at home by a psychogerontologist working for a community gerontological center. Older people with dementia were assessed with Mini mental state examination, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, Activities of Daily Living (ADL), and NeuroPsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and family caregivers with the Burden Interview (Zarit scale), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and the emotional impact measure of NPI. For both, nutritional status was evaluated using the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among older people with dementia, 58.9% were at risk of malnutrition and 23.2% presented a poor nutritional status, and among the family caregivers, 32.1% and 5.4%, respectively. The MNA score of older people with dementia was strongly and inversely associated with the ADL score and was strongly and positively associated with the MNA score of family caregiver. These two factors significantly explained 32% of variation of MNA score of older people with dementia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings confirm the value of investigating nutritional deficiencies in dementia within the caregiving dyad and suggest that the functional status of older people with dementia and the nutritional status of family caregivers should be carefully assessed.
authors: Univ. Bordeaux, Psychologie, Santé et Qualité de vie, EA4139, F-33000, Bordeaux, France.
authors: Laetitia
authors: L
authors: Rullier
authors: Alexia
authors: A
authors: Lagarde
authors: Jean
authors: J
authors: Bouisson
authors: Valérie
authors: V
authors: Bergua
authors: Pascale
authors: P
authors: Barberger-Gateau
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012044:Regression Analysis