Factors Associated With Hyperphagic Behavior in Patients With Dementia Living at Home

To investigate the prevalence and patterns of and factors associated with hyperphagic behavior in Taiwanese patients with dementia living at home.

A cross-sectional and correlational design was used. A total of 104 patients with dementia and their primary caregivers were recruited from the geriatric, neurology, and memory clinics of a regional hospital, a medical center and two day-care centers in central Taiwan. The data related to hyperphagic behavior, functional abilities, medical conditions, body weight, and demographic characteristics of patients as well as the demographic characteristics of their primary caregivers were collected between January and May 2013.

Based on a strict criterion (a median score of 3 for the hyperphagic subscale), the prevalence of hyperphagia in patients with dementia was 53.8%. Specific hyperphagic patterns exhibited included increased food intake (49% of patients with dementia), hoarding (8.7%), oral exploration (6.8%), and pica (3.9%). Years of education of the patient, the use of antipsychotics in patients, and the age of primary caregivers explained 16.3% of the variance in hyperphagic behavior subscale scores (F = 6.47, p < .001).

For the early identification and treatment of hyperphagic behavior in patients with dementia in home care or in clinic services provided by health professionals, specific attention should be paid to the usual eating behaviors of patients with lower levels of education or who are taking antipsychotic medication or those who have a female primary caregiver.