EATING DISORDERS IN DEMENTIA

Objectives. To examine the prevalence and associations of altered eati ng patterns in dementia sufferers. Design. Prospective cohort study. S etting. Psychiatric services and a memory clinic. Sample. 124 patients with DSM-III-R dementia. Measures. The Geriatric Mental State Schedul e, the History and Aetiology Schedule, the Cornell Depression Scale an d the CAMCOG. Additional standardized questions were asked about eatin g patterns in the month prior to the study, Results. Information conce rning eating patterns was obtained from 105 of the 124 patients: 21% h ad increased food consumption, 22.1% had decreased food consumption, 2 .9% tried to eat inedible substances, 11.4% had an increased preferenc e for sweet things, 7.6% became more fussy about their food choices an d 4.8% became less fussy. Decreased food consumption was significantly associated with less severe cognitive impairment and was related to R DC major depression in some patients. An increased preference for swee t things showed an association with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease . Increased food consumption was probably heterogeneous. Neither incre ased food consumption nor an increased preference for sweet foods was associated with the severity of cognitive impairment. Conclusion. Alte red eating patterns are common in dementia sufferers. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.