NUTRITIONAL-STATUS OF PATIENTS WITH ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE - A 1-YEAR STUDY

Objective To describe the effects of activity level and energy intake over time on the body weight of patients with Alzheimer's disease comp ared with cognitively normal subjects. Design Repeated measures, case- control design with measurements taken at quarterly intervals for 12 m onths. Subjects were grouped by gender and activity level (sendentary or active) within cognitive status. Setting The Alzheimer's disease Sp ecial Care Unit, The Clinical Research Center at University of Califor nia, San Diego, and the Fred Kasch Exercise Physiology Laboratories at San Diego State University. Patients Seventeen institutionalized subj ects with Alzheimer's disease and 23 community-dwelling control subjec ts successfully completed the 1-year study. Measurements Before admiss ion to the nursing home; the patients with Alzheimer's disease had a f ormal assessment for dementia, which showed that they met the criteria of the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke and the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Associat ion work group for probable or possible Alzheimer's disease. Control s ubjects were screened using the Information-Memory-Concentration Menta l Status Test and were found to have no cognitive disabilities. Baseli ne and quarterly measurements included height, weight, bioimpedance fo r body composition, and activity by accelerometer counts. Dietary inta ke of energy and protein was determined at baseline and at 6 and 12 mo nths. Results Patients with Alzheimer's disease had a significantly hi gher energy intake than patients in the control group. Both women and men with Alzheimer's disease maintained their weight. Women with Alzhe imer's disease had higher percentage of fat-free mass than the control group, but there were no differences in body composition between the groups of men. Conclusion Subjects with Alzheimer's disease can mainta in their weight if they are given a diet with adequate energy (35 kcal /kg of body weight).