The Nutritional Status of Elderly Chinese Patients With Parkinson's Disease

Introduction: To investigate the nutritional status of elderly Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and analyze possible factors related to nutritional problems. Methods: Patients with PD aged 65 years or older were enrolled. Anthropometric assessment and Mini Nutritional Assessment were used to determine nutritional status. Various scales were completed to identify potentially related factors, such as Hoehn and Yahr stage (H&Y stage), 30 mL water swallow test, Clock Drawing Test (CDT), and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). Results: 785 patients were enrolled. The prevalence of malnutrition and risk of malnutrition was 3.1% (24/785) and 25.7% (202/785), respectively. Regression analyses indicated that H&Y stage ≥ 3 (OR: 2.151; 95%CI: 1.174-3.941; p = .013), abnormal water swallow test (OR: 4.559; 95%CI: 2.130-9.759; p < .001), CDT score < 6 (OR: 2.810; 95%CI: 1.534-5.148; p = .001), and CCI (OR: 1.621; 95%CI: 1.238-2.124; p < .001) were considered to be potential factors associated with low BMI. Conclusion: 28.8% of elderly PD patients were in abnormal nutritional status. Disease severity, dysphagia, cognitive function, and comorbidities might be related factors.