Elderly Adult Nutrition and Cognitive Performance

Abstract

This is a descriptive study designed to detect the nutritional status, dietetic intake and cognitive performance of 85 elderly adults who take their meals at community kitchens in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, Mexico. A brief nutrition analysis was done, dietetic intake was measured (observed and supplemented with a record of food intake for three-day series), and cognitive performance was evaluated through mini-mental state examinations and trace tests. The nutritional state of 58.8% of the sample group was good, 40% were at risk of malnutrition and 1.2% of the group was malnourished. The cognitive performance of 72.1% was acceptable, while 23.6% displayed inadequate cognitive performance and 3.5% showed poor cognitive performance.

The findings denote a significant association between: a) a better nutritional state and more consumption of energy, proteins, carbohydrates, calcium, thiamine, niacin and folates; b) better cognitive performance and better intake of energy, carbohydrates, proteins, niacin and cobalamine; and c) age and cognitive performance. With respect to the latter, the greater the age, the worse the cognitive performance. The relationship found between the brief nutrition analysis and actual nutrition and that measured by the food record suggests the first is a useful nursing tool to guide the preservation of nutritional state and, therefore, the cognitive performance of people in this age group.