Nutritional status, dementia and associated factors ininstitutionalized elderly

Background: Dementia is a neurodegenerative process considered the primary characteristic in a group of diseases with similar qualities in which the elderly presents decreased global cognitive function, with impairment on daily activities, being Alzheimer’s disease (AD) the most common cause. Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the dementia presence, nutritional status and associated demographic factors in elderly assisted in a Health Assistance Reference Centre in Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Methods: It is a Cross-sectional, documental and quantitative study performed through the analysis of medical records from patients assisted in the Eny Faria de Oliveira Referral Center for Elderly Health Care (CRASI) (n=702). Dementia was evaluated through the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale and the nutritional status accessed via Body Mass Index (BMI). Binary Logistic Regression was used as a multivariate analysis to evaluate the association between dementia and the investigated variables. Results: dementia was positively associated with young old, old old, illiterate and underweight elderly. Regarding the nutritional status, the elderly classified as underweight presented 1.909 more chance of introducing dementia as compared with overweight elderly. Conclusion: The very old, illiterate and underweight elderly were associated with the outcome, suggesting that BMI, age group, and schooling should be considered in the investigation and prevention of this relationship.