Nutritional status and food consumption of patients with Parkinson disease

Abstract

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects food intake as the disease progresses. The assessment of nutritional status is essential to identify early nutritional deficits. Objective: To investigate the nutritional status and food intake of patients diagnosed with PD. Methods: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional, and quantitative study. A structured questionnaire with restricted questions was applied to identify the sociodemographic profile and anthropometric measurements were taken. To evaluate the disease stage, the modified Hoehn & Yahr scale was used. Food intake was evaluated using the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). The acquired information was organized in the Microsoft Office Excel 2010 program and statistical analysis was performed using the BioEstat 5.3 program. Results: The research was carried out with 40 patients; the majority was male (60%), over 60 years old (52.5%), single (55%), with a high school degree (42.5%), retirees (80%), and receiving one minimum salary (42.5%). Most were classified with eutrophic (42.5%) and overweight (42.5%). About food consumption, the most common foods were banana (60%), fish (52.5%), acerola (45%), and orange (32%). Among the high-risk foods, red meat (82.5%), fried foods (30%), heavy cream (25%), and filled sandwich cookies (25%) were the most common. Conclusions: Most patients had a high consumption of red meat and processed foods, with relevant consumption of some fruits and low consumption of grains and oilseeds. The disease stage was not associated with nutritional status.

Correlations between Nutritional Status and Quality of Life of People with Parkinson’s Disease

“…With regard to nutritional status, PD patients usually tend to be underweight or malnourished, which may be associated with increased energy expenditure caused by the progression of motor symptoms, associated with gastrointestinal symptoms and anorexia arising from the side effects of PD medications, modifying the state patient’s nutritional status [ 6 ]. Nevertheless, in the present study, we observed a different pattern in the studied population, with a higher presentation of overweight and eutrophy, corroborating previous studies [ 5 , 22 , 23 ] that obtained similar data in their analysis. It may be an effect of the PD-related reduced levels of dopamine receptors, together with the increase in neurotoxins associated with chronic inflammation, which can contribute to an excess of weight [ 5 , 24 ].…”

Food consumption, anthropometry and body composition of patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease

“…Fernandez et al [26], when assessing the pattern of food consumption in patients with PD, found a proportion of 42.5% overweight, which was associated with a high consumption of red meat and processed foods. The study also suggested a relationship between the dietary pattern found and the patients' financial condition, which would make access to protective foods difficult.…”

Use of Plant Extracts in Polymeric Scaffolds in the Regeneration of Mandibular Injuries

“…For quantitative assessment of the newly formed bone, we used the central region and an average distance between the peripheral and central regions. The measurements were transferred to the BioEstat 5.3 software [ 55 ] and ANOVA statistical tests with Tukey's post-test were applied, with a significance level of p < 0.05.…”