The journal of nutrition, health & aging
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J Nutr Health Aging · Apr 2008
Assessing the prevalence of malnutrition with the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) in a nationally representative sample of elderly Taiwanese.
The study was to determine whether the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) could be used as a tool to effectively identify malnourished elderly in a non-Caucasian population. ⋯ To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to apply the MNA to estimate the prevalence of malnutrition in the elderly in a nationally representative sample. Results suggest that the MNA can identify malnourished elderly in a non-Caucasian population. However, it appears that the functionality of the instrument can be improved by adapting population-specific anthropometric cutoff standards.
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J Nutr Health Aging · Apr 2008
International publications from the French geriatric teams: evolution in the course of last 22 years.
Bibliometry is a widely used method assessing the activity of research. ⋯ This bibliometric investigation points out the growing interest of the French geriatrics in clinical research, mostly oriented toward nutrition and dementia in the elderly.
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J Nutr Health Aging · Nov 2007
Goals of care in advanced dementia: quality of life, dignity and comfort.
Prolongation of human lifespan is increasing the number of individuals suffering from Alzheimer's disease and other progressive dementia worldwide. There are about 5 million of these individuals in both United States and European Union and many more in other countries of the world (1). Because there is no curative treatment for these diseases, most individuals with dementia survive to an advanced stage of dementia at which time many of them require institutional care. ⋯ Such care may not only provide better care for individuals with dementia and their families but may also save some health care resources (9). Palliative care is well accepted by many relatives of individuals with advanced dementia but not promoted by many health care professionals. We need to provide more education and research results for health care professionals to increase the use of palliative care in advanced dementia.
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J Nutr Health Aging · Mar 2007
ReviewIANA task force on nutrition and cognitive decline with aging.
Cognitive impairment can be influenced by a number of factors. The potential effect of nutrition has become a topic of increasing scientific and public interest. In particular, there are arguments that nutrients (food and/or supplements) such as vitamins, trace minerals, lipids, can affect the risk of cognitive decline and dementia, especially in frail elderly people at risk of deficiencies. ⋯ It is important to stress the need to develop further prospective studies of sufficiently long duration, including subjects whose diet is monitored at a sufficiently early stage or at least before disease or cognitive decline exist. Meta analyses should be developed, and on the basis of their results the most appropriate interventional studies can be planned. These studies must control for the greatest number of known confounding factors and take into account the impact of the standard social determinants of food habits, such as the regional cultures, social status, and educational level.