Nutritional Status and Eating Disturbances among Patients with Neurocognitive Disorder

Objective: Evaluate the prevalence of malnutrition and explore the issue of eating disturbances in cognitively impaired patients at the memory clinic. Materials and Methods: Sixty-two cognitively impaired patients from the memory clinic were assessed. The cognitive stage was categorized using the Clinical Dementia Rating scale-Sum of Boxes. Participants underwent a comprehensive assessment including: Mini-Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF) questionnaire, Body Mass Index (BMI) and Waist-Hip Ratio (WHR) measurements, biochemical markers such as total protein, albumin, and hemoglobin levels, and a comprehensive questionnaire to evaluate eating disturbances. Logistic regression and chi-square analyzed the relationship between cognitive impairment severity, nutritional status, and eating disturbances. Results: Participants were classified into three groups: mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n=30), mild dementia (n=22), and moderate dementia (n=10). No significant differences were observed between the groups in terms of BMI, WHR, total protein, albumin, and hemoglobin levels. Based on the MNA-SF score, the odds of malnutrition increased with the severity of cognitive impairment. Moderate dementia patients exhibited a significantly higher risk of malnutrition compared to MCI patients (adjusted OR = 8.87; 95%CI = 1.59-49.46; p = 0.013). The prevalence of eating disturbances increased with the severity of cognitive impairment. Patients with moderate dementia had higher odds of experiencing changes in eating habits compared to those with MCI (aOR=9.37; 95%CI = 0.98-89.64; p=0.052). Conclusions: Cognitive impairment was associated with increased malnutrition risk and progressive eating disturbances, including changes in appetite and eating habit.