Natural history of hyperphagia and other eating changes in dementia

✍ Scribed by Janet Keene; Tony Hope

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 117 KB
• Volume: 13
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-6230
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1166(1998100)13:10<700::aid-gps855>3.0.co;2-d

✦ Synopsis

Objective:

To investigate the natural history of overeating (hyperphagia) and its elements during the course of dementia.

Design:

Prospective longitudinal study of overeating (hyperphagia) in dementia. two studies were carried out: (1) hyperphagia and associated eating changes were investigated as part of a larger prospective 10-year study into behaviour changes, using carers' reports; (2) an observational study to investigate hyperphagia quantitatively; this took place over the course of a year by means of direct observation of test meals in a normal environment.

Setting:

Subjects with dementia living in oxfordshire, uk.

Participants:

(1) 99 people with dementia, living at home with a carer, with data for more than 1 year. (2) nine people with a diagnosis of alzheimer's disease who were hyperphagic.

Measures:

(1) the present behavioural examination was used at 4-monthly intervals to assess the subjects' behaviour and psychological functioning. (2) food intake, macronutrient choice and the microstructure of eating were measured using a standardized test meal.

Results:

(1) severe or persistent hyperphagia was reported in 23% of the sample and carers reported a clear onset to hyperphagia with a median duration of 16 months. (2) from direct observation, each person who was hyperphagic was seen to maintain a constant eating rate in test meals during the course of a year but meals ended earlier as hyperphagia decreased.

Conclusions:

Hyperphagia is common in dementia, it occurs over a single restricted period, mainly during the middle stages of dementia, and is not significantly related to age, sex, diagnosis, medication or activity.