Cognitive Disorders in Malnourished Elderly Subjects

Some authors have reported that protein-calorie malnutrition is a factor favoring cognitive decline in the elderly. Our aim was to study cognitive function and nutritional status in subjects aged over 60. This was a retrospective, descriptive study conducted in the internal medicine department of Mohammed Taher Maamouri Hospital, Nabeul, over a four-month period. One hundred and ten patients were included. The gender-ratio M/F was 1.03. The mean age of the patients was 71.36 8.5 years, with extremes ranging from 60 to 91 years. The mean Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score was 22.1 7.3 points. Mean body mass index was 27.5 4.8, with extremes ranging from 17.4 to 39.6 kg/m . The mean Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) score was 22.4 8.4 points. Poor nutritional status or risk of malnutrition were noted in 26 and 19% of cases respectively. Malnutrition and its main clinical and biological markers were significantly associated with cognitive decline.