Table 1.
Characteristics of Participants (N = 163)
| Measure | Percent (n) or M (± SD) |
| Demographic | |
| Female | 77 (125) |
| White | 80 (130) |
| Age, years | 82.35 (± 11.71) |
| Length of stay, years | 2.45 (± 2.94) |
| Medical | |
| Dementia diagnosis | 37 (60) |
| MMSE total score (0–30)a | 14.76 (± 9.23) |
| Depression diagnosis | 41 (67) |
| GDS total score >5b | 29 (40/138) |
| Dysphagia diagnosis | 10 (16) |
| MDS | |
| MDS recall scale score ≥ 2c | 66 (107) |
| MDS Eating Dependency rating ≥ 1d | 43 (70) |
| Food complaints | 0 (0) |
| Nutritional | |
| Special diet ordere | 88 (143) |
| Oral liquid nutrition supplement order | 52 (84) |
| Body mass index < 21 | 28 (45) |
| Estimated resting energy expendituref | 1204.91 (± 279.62) |
| Average total percent eaten during meals | 64 (± 20) |
Notes: GDS-short = Geriatric Depression Scale short form; NH = nursing home; MDS = Minimum Data Set; MMSE = Mini-Mental State Examination.
MMSE: score range from 0 (severely impaired) to 30 (cognitively intact).
GDS-short: ranges from 0 to 15 where a score greater than 5 is indicative of probable depression. Only participants with an MMSE total score of 15 or higher were interviewed with the GDS-short.
MDS (Section B3. Memory/Recall Ability, Items a–d): rated by NH staff as able to accurately recall (a) current season, (b) location of own room, (c) staff names/faces, and (d) that he or she is in a. Score range from 0 to 4 (rated by staff as capable of accurately recalling all four items).
MDS Eating Dependency Scale score (Section G. Physical Functioning, Item 1h) rated (0) completely independent, no help, or oversight needed; (1) supervision; (2) limited assistance; (3) extensive assistance, and (4) completely dependent, full physical assistance.
Special diets included any restrictions (no added salt, no concentrated sugars) or altered texture (ground, mechanical soft, puree, thickened liquids).
Harris–Benedict equations for Resting Energy Expenditure Needs Estimation: Male = 66.5 + 13.75 weight in kilograms + 5.0 height in centimeters − 6.78 age; female = 655.1 + 9.56 weight in kilograms + 1.85 height in centimeters − 4.68 age.