Original Article
Correlation of nutritional status in elderly patients with Alzheimer disease and self-efficacy of their caregivers
Hongdi Du, Xiaoxuan Liu, Xiaopeng Huo, Hong Jiang, Kang Yu
Published 2018-08-30
Cite as Chin J Clin Nutr, 2018, 26(4): 241-244. DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.1674-635X.2018.04.008
Abstract
ObjectiveTo investigate the correlation between nutritional status in elderly patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) and self-efficacy of their caregivers.
MethodsNinety-two elderly patients with AD and 92 their caregivers were enrolled from a Peking Union Medical College in Beijing from March to October 2017, who were evaluated by the mini nutritional assessment short form (MNA-SF) and the general self-efficacy scale (GSES) respectively for the nutritional status of the AD patients and the self-efficacy of their caregivers, and the correlation between them was analyzed.
ResultsThe average MNA-SF score of the AD patients was 7.8±2.5. The incidence of malnutrition risk and malnutrition were 34.8% and 27.2% respectively. The MNA-SF score of the AD patients decreased (F=4.589, P=0.009), and the incidence of malnutrition risk (χ2=7.319, P=0.026) and malnutrition (χ2=7.080, P=0.032) increased significantly with the aggravation of AD. The average self-efficacy score of the caregivers was 2.20±0.45. With the aggravation of AD, the GSES score of the caregivers decreased significantly (F=3.122, P=0.016). There was a positive correlation between the nutritional status of the AD patients and the self-efficacy of their caregivers (r=0.254, P=0.022).
ConclusionThe nutritional status in elderly patients with AD is positively correlated with the self-efficacy of their caregivers, that is, the higher GSES score of the caregiver is, the better nutritional status of the AD patient has.
Key words:
Alzheimer disease; Elderly patient; Nutritional status; Caregiver; Self-efficacy
Contributor Information
Hongdi Du
Department of Health Care, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China
Xiaoxuan Liu
Xiaopeng Huo
Hong Jiang
Kang Yu