Malnutrition and Depressive Symptoms in Elderly Palliative Care Patients

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of and relationship between malnutrition and depressive symptoms in older palliative care inpatients. Methods: One hundred and thirty-six older adults were included in the study. The Geriatric Depression Scale, Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form, Mini Mental State Examination, Barthel index, and Lawton & Brody index were used to evaluate the mood, nutrition status, mental status, and activities of daily living of the patients. Results: The mean age of the patients was 74.88 ± 8.82 years, and 63.2% of the patients were female. According to the nutritional assessment, 39.7% of the patients suffered from malnutrition, while 47.1% were at risk for it, and depressive symptoms were detected in 79.4% of the patients. A strong negative correlation was found between the scores for nutritional and depressive symptoms (r = -.750, 95% CI = -.834 to -.668). Conclusion: Malnutrition, risk of malnutrition, and depressive symptoms were found to occur often among the patients, and the relationship between them was statistically significant. Our results highlight that the quality of life of palliative care patients could be improved by providing adequate nutrition and psychological support.