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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 2000 May 1;91(3):220–224. doi: 10.1007/BF03404276

Do Nutrition Indicators Predict Death in Elderly Canadians with Cognitive Impairment?

Heather H Keller 114,✉, Truls Østbye 214
PMCID: PMC6979989  PMID: 10927853

Abstract

This study describes the independent association between nutritional risk and death in older adults diagnosed with cognitive impairment. Canadian Study of Health and Aging participants who completed a clinical exam and were diagnosed with cognitive impairment and had complete data for regression analyses were included (n=735). Nutritional risk was defined as the presence of at least one abnormal nutrition indicator identified during the clinical exam (history of weight loss, abnormal serum albumin, poor appetite, body mass index < 20). Other covariates believed to influence mortality were modelled with nutritional risk using logistic regression. There were 373 deaths during the five-year follow-up period in this sample. Nutritional risk was found to independently increase the likelihood of death (OR=1.6, 95% CI 1.1, 2.2) in these older adults suffering from cognitive impairment. Further work is required to determine if interventions can improve nutritional status and quality of life of these older adults.

Footnotes

(at the time of study was with the University of Western Ontario)

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