Abstract
ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore the association between malnutrition, clinical parameters, and health-related quality of life in elderly hospitalized patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD).MethodsCross-sectional study of 92 hospitalized elderly patients with PD (mean age 73.6 ± 6.7 years) without dementia. The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) was used to evaluate nutritional status. Motor impairment and non-motor symptoms burden (Movement Disorder Society-sponsored revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale [MDS-UPDRS], Non-Motor Symptoms Questionnaire, and Hoehn & Yahr staging), depression (Becks Depression Inventory-II), and health-related quality of life (PD quality of life Questionnaire-39) were assessed.ResultsEvery second patient was malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. In the multivariable analysis, male gender, longer disease duration, higher Hoehn & Yahr and depression were associated with total MNA score. Besides non-motor symptoms and motor impairment, malnutrition was an independent predictor of poor health-related quality of life. In the multivariate analysis, malnutrition had a statistically significant effect on emotional well-being, mobility, social support, stigmatization, and cognition. The strongest association was found between malnutrition and emotional well-being.ConclusionElderly male persons with longer PD duration and higher disease stages are more likely to be malnourished or at risk for malnutrition. Malnutrition was mainly associated with poor emotional well-being, suggesting that treatment of depression and anxiety beside diet and physical activity can help improving nutrition status in these subjects. The MNA should not be used independent of other measures of cognition and depression in people with advanced PD.
Highlights
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor impairment and a plethora of non-motor symptoms
Male gender, longer disease duration, higher Hoehn & Yahr and depression were associated with total Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) score
Malnutrition in Parkinsons disease be used independent of other measures of cognition and depression in people with advanced PD
Summary
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor impairment and a plethora of non-motor symptoms. People with PD are at a high risk of malnutrition [1]. In PD, malnutrition and risk of malnutrition were associated with motor impairment, disease duration, and several non-motor symptoms, such as constipation and depression [2, 3]. There are several reasons and mechanisms how clinical factors can contribute to malnutrition. People with PD increasingly need help with daily activities due to an increase of motor impairments (e.g. gait disturbances, falls) and the occurrence of neuropsychological problems (e.g. dementia) [5]. In the course of the disease many patients have to be treated in hospital to optimize medical and non-medical treatment
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
