Impact of plate shape on the conservation of food praxis in institutionalised elderly adults with severe Alzheimer's disease or mixed dementia: Praxalim an observational before-after non-randomized study.

Abstract

To investigate whether the shape of the food plate could affect the conservation of praxis in institutionalised elderly adults with severe Alzheimer's disease or mixed dementia. We conducted a monocentric, prospective, observational, before-after case-only study in 32 patients with a loss of the ability to self-feed. The primary objective was to assess the change of food praxis using the Blandford scale at 3 weeks after changing the food plate. Secondary variables included the impact of the change of diet on the food praxis at 6 weeks, the patient's autonomy in the food intake evaluated by Tully's Eating Behaviour Scale (EBS), and the enjoyment of eating assessed by Part D of the Alzheimer's Disease-Related Quality of Life (ADRQL) scale at 3 and 6 weeks. Results: At 3 weeks after changing the food plate we observed a significant decrease in the number of aversive feeding behaviours (Δ=-0.90 ± 2.23; p=0.03) and an improved autonomy in self-feeding (Δ=1.88 ± 3.36.23; p=0.001). There was also an increase in the enjoyment of eating at 3 weeks (Δ=4.07 ± 13.02), but it was not statistically significant. These results were not consolidated at the 6 week timepoint. Conclusion: A simple change in the organisation of care during meals and the use of a familiar object can positively affect the recovery of the self-feeding autonomy of patients with severe dementia.