Abstract
Nutrition is a critical issue in long-term care residents, as has been discussed previously in the pages of the Journal. 1 Arinzon Z. Peisakh A. Berner Y.N. Evaluation of the benefits of enteral nutrition in long-term care elderly patients. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2008; 9: 657-662 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (36) Google Scholar , 2 Sloane P.D. Ivey J. Helton M. et al. Nutritional issues in long-term care. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2008; 9: 476-485 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (74) Google Scholar , 3 Messinger-Rapport B.J. Thomas D.R. Gammack J.K. Morley J.E. Clinical update on nursing home medicine. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2008; 9: 460-475 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (16) Google Scholar , 4 Cabrera M.A. Mesas A.E. Garcia A.R. de Andrade S.M. Malnutrition and depression among community-dwelling elderly people. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2007; 8: 582-584 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (143) Google Scholar , 5 Yeh S.S. Lovitt S. Schuster M.W. Pharmacological treatment of geriatric cachexia, evidence and safety in perspective. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2007; 8: 363-377 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (49) Google Scholar , 6 Chang J.C. Finucane T.E. Christmas C. et al. Nutrition and involuntary weight loss: A pilot study of an educational intervention for nursing home surveyors. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2007; 8: 110-114 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (9) Google Scholar , 7 Yeh S.S. Blackwood K. Schuster M.W. The cytokine basis of cachexia and its treatment: Are they ready for prime time?. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2008; 9: 219-236 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (51) Google Scholar , 8 Keller H.H. Gibbs-Ward A. Randall-Simpson J. et al. Meal Rounds: An essential aspect of quality nutrition services in long-term care. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2006; 7: 40-45 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (38) Google Scholar In nursing home residents, a 10-fold increased risk for death was observed for persons who lost 5% of their body weight in any month, compared with those who gained weight. 9 Sullivan D.H. Johnson L.E. Bopp M.M. Roberson P.K. Prognostic significance of monthly weight fluctuations among older nursing home residents. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2004; 59: M633-M639 Crossref PubMed Google Scholar Other studies have shown that nursing home residents who lost at least 5% of their body weight were 5 times more likely to die within 1 year compared with control subjects. 10 Ryan C. Bryant E. Eleazer P. et al. Unintentional weight loss in long-term care: Predictor of mortality in the elderly. South Med J. 1995; 88: 721-724 Crossref PubMed Scopus (81) Google Scholar More sobering, however, is the finding that even persons who regain their weight after a 5% weight loss experience a higher mortality in long-term care settings. 11 Sullivan D.H. Morley J.E. Johnson L.E. et al. The Geriatric Anorexia Nutrition Registry: The impact of appetite and weight on mortality in a long-term care population. J Nutr Health Aging. 2002; 6: 275-281 PubMed Google Scholar This suggests that it may not be the weight loss per se that confers the risk, but the context in which the weight loss occurs that is important.
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