Risk Factors Associated With Malnutrition in Older Adults Living in Italian Nursing Homes: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Risk Factors Associated with Malnutrition in Older Adults Living in Italian Nursing Homes: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Res Gerontol Nurs. 2013 Jun 4; 1-11
Papparotto C, Bidoli E, Palese A

Malnutrition is a significant problem among older adults living in nursing homes: Malnourished residents are at increased risk of hospitalization and mortality. Multiple factors determine malnutrition, and the extant literature has focused attention on individual factors such as aging, sex, and dependence in activities of daily living. However, little evidence is available on factors influenced by nursing care. Exploring the relationship between the nutritional status of nursing home residents and certain individual factors, including those potentially influenced by nursing care, was the aim of this cross-sectional study. A total of 186 nursing home residents was enrolled in the study; in addition, 18 nurses were involved in the data collection process. Twenty-one percent of the residents had an adequate nutritional status, 43% were at risk of malnutrition, and 36% were malnourished. Multivariate analysis revealed that those independent factors associated with malnutrition, once adjusted for age, sex, and dependence in activities of daily living, were: having had a stroke, being dependent in activities of daily living, eating half or less of food provided at mealtimes, and having their weight checked only every 3 months or longer. Nursing care projects may be effective in reducing the risk of malnutrition among nursing home residents. However, further research is needed to develop knowledge of the factors associated with malnutrition and those influenced by care delivered in nursing homes. HubMed – eating

[Affective pathology in the premanifesting period of anorexia nervosa in adolescents.]

Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2013; 113(5 Vypusk 2 Detskaia nevrologiia i psikhiatriia): 69-74
Grachev VV

Objective of the study were: to specify the features of clinical presentations and dynamics of anorexia nervosa (AN) developed in adolescence during the current depression; to study affective disorders preceding the onset of AN and to analyze comorbidity of these two pathologies. We examined 21 female patients, aged from 15 to 17 years old (mean age 16.7±0.8 years). It was shown that depressive symptoms developed 4-11 months (mean 7.9±2.5 months) before the onset of AN. The development of AN was associated with depression and might be considered as one of mechanisms of formation of eating disorders that might be termed as affective mechanism. Thus, we can specify a variant of adolescent/juvenile depression, or depression with eating disorders. The variant represents a protracted depressive state with overvalued ideas to improve body image and to restrict calories which is combined with adynamic affect associated with anxiety, melancholy and dysphoria. HubMed – eating

[EEG changes in patients with eating disorder.]

Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2013; 113(5): 66-68
Marilov VV, Sologub MB, Gudkova AA

HubMed – eating

Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin’s 1825 treatise on the mouth and ingestion.

Singapore Dent J. 2012 Dec; 33(1): 31-6
Chong GT

This article quotes and discusses Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin’s musings on the mouth and ingestion as described in his book The Physiology of Taste. The book was first published in France in December 1825, and is still widely read as a key work in Gastronomy today. The mouth is intimately related to the acts of chewing, swallowing and eating and it would be interesting to report an early 19th century epicurean’s views on the mouth. Passages from Brillat-Savarin’s book describing the functions of the teeth and tongue and the acts of tasting, chewing, and swallowing are quoted in full. Anecdotes also include one on the horrifying punishment of having one’s tongue removed and another illustrating the poor oral health found among Europeans of that era. His work offers a unique glimpse into how a 19th century gastronome viewed the oral cavity and its gastronomical functions. While some of his writings may appear archaic and antediluvian to the modern reader; others relating to, for example chewing and swallowing, are surprisingly accurate by contemporary standards. Nonetheless, the gastronomic savant seemed to know a lot right about modern stomatology! HubMed – eating

A text message based weight management intervention for overweight adults.

J Hum Nutr Diet. 2013 Jun 6;
Donaldson EL, Fallows S, Morris M

BACKGROUND: Weight management interventions can be extended using mobile telephone technology to deliver support in real-time, real-world settings. The present study aimed to determine whether text messaging helped patients maintain or lose weight following a weight-loss programme. METHODS: In this controlled study, overweight and obese [body mass index (BMI) >30 kg m(-2) or >28 kg m(-2) with co-morbidities] adults who completed a weight-loss programme participated in an additional 12-week text message intervention [Lifestyle, Eating and Activity Programme (LEAP) Beep]. Patients were allocated goals for steps, fruit, vegetable and breakfast consumption. Patients regularly ‘texted’ their progress and received tailored practitioner feedback. Pre/post-intervention body weight, waist circumference (WC), BMI, quality of life (QOL), anxiety and depression measurements were compared retrospectively with a control group offered weight checks only. RESULTS: Compared to control (n = 17), the intervention group’s (n = 17) body weight, WC and BMI reduced significantly (-1.6 versus 0.7 kg, P = 0.006; -2.2 versus 1.5 cm, P = 0.0005; -0.6 versus 0.7 kg m(-2) , P = 0.03, respectively). QOL and depression scores also improved (-6.8 versus 1 point, P = 0.134; -0.2 versus 0.2 points, P = 0.228). No difference was observed in anxiety scores between the groups. Intervention versus control group follow-up attendance improved significantly (4.4 versus 1.7 attendances, P = 0.0005). CONCLUSIONS: LEAP Beep promoted losses in weight, WC and BMI, and improved QOL parameters and follow-up attendance. Text messaging is a cheap, portable, convenient and innovative medium facilitating goal setting, self-monitoring and information exchange. Further improvements to automation at the same time as maintaining individual support are necessary to ease practitioner burden. Text messaging offers cost-efficient dietetic input, opening up possibilities for practitioner-to-patient support and yields positive weight outcomes following initial weight loss. HubMed – eating