Belastung pflegende Angehörige und der Ernährungsstatus bei Demenzkranken

Association between nutrtional status of home cared persons suffering from dementia with individual and family caregivers´characteristics

In dieser Posterpräsentation habe ich aufgezeigt, dass der Ernährungsstatus wider erwartend nicht von der psychischen Belastung der Pflegeperson beeinflusst wird. Signifikanten Einfluss auf den Ernährungsstatus hatten der Schweregrad der Demenz und die pflegerische Abhängigkeit.

Abstract

Rationale: Dementia is associated with eating difficulties, weight loss and malnutrition. The aim was to describe the nutritional status in community-dwelling persons with dementia (pwd) and their main family caregiver and to identify determinants of malnutrition.
Methods: This abstract describes part of the quantitative results of a mixed methods study in a home care setting. We first conducted structured questionnaires in a convenience sample of 67 dyads (pwd [80.0±7.5 y; 49.3% at risk; 29.9% malnourished] and their caregivers [66.6±12.5 y]). In pwd we assessed nutritional (MNA-LF), functional (ADL/IADL) and
mental status (MMSE/GDS) and eating behavior (EdFED-Q). In caregivers we assessed nutritional status (MNA-LF), frailty, mental status (GDS), burden of care (HPS) and psychopathology
of pwd (NPI-Q). Linear regression analyses were used to examine the relation between MNA-LF score of the pwd as dependent variable and nine selected independent variables.
Results: The univariate linear regression analysis shows a significant effect (p < 0.001) of ADL (R2 = 0.60), MMSE (R2 = 0.52), EdFED-Q (R2 = 0.38), IADL (R2 = 0.35) on MNA score. None of the caregiver characteristics was significantly related to the MNA of the pwd. In the multivariate model with backward selection procedure only MMSE and ADL remained significant (R2 = 0.62).
Conclusion: Contrary to our expectation we did not find any association between the emotional burden of family caregivers and the nutritional status of the pwd. Cognitive
and functional statuses are significantly related to the nutritional status of pwd. Further studies are necessary to better understand which specific confounders may play an additional role for the nutritional situation in communitydwelling persons with and without dementia.