A poor appetite or ability to eat and its association with physical function amongst community-dwelling older adults: age, gene/environment susceptibility-Reykjavik study

The associations between sleep quality, mood, pain and appetite in community dwelling older adults: a daily experience study

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the daily life experiences of sleep, mood, and pain in relation to appetite in community-dwelling older adults aged 75 years and older, stratified by sex.

DESIGN

Existing data from a daily experience study embedded in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) among the oldest-old (≥75 years).

SETTING

LASA is an ongoing cohort study of a nationally representative sample of older adults aged ≥55 years from three culturally distinct regions in the Netherlands.

PARTICIPANTS

434 community-dwelling older adults aged ≥75 years.

MEASUREMENTS

Participants filled-out a one-week diary on daily experience of pain, mood, last night sleep (10-point Likert scale), and appetite (5-point Likert scale) on five measurement occasions between 2016 and 2021. (Hybrid) linear mixed models were used to investigate overall, within-subject and between-subject association between mood, sleep, and pain (independent variables) and appetite (dependent variable), while correcting between-subject associations for season, age, educational level, partner status, body mass index, alcohol consumption, physical activity level, smoking status, chronic diseases and use of nervous system medication, stratified by sex.

RESULTS

Averaged over all days, males reported a poor appetite on 12% of the days and females on 19% of the days. Statistically significant between-subject associations with a poorer appetite were found for lower mood (unstandardized b = 0.084 [95% CI 0.043-0.126] (males), (b = 0.126 [95% CI 0.082-0.170] (females)), poorer sleep (b = 0.045 [95% CI 0.007-0.083] (males), (b = 0.51 [95% CI 0.017-0.085] (females)) and more severe pain in males only (b = 0.026 [95% CI 0.002-0.051]). Except for pain, within-subject associations were somewhat weaker: mood: b = 0.038 [95% CI 0.016-0.060] (males), (b = 0.082 [95% CI 0.061-0.104] (females)); sleep: b = 0.029 [95% CI 0.008-0.050] (males), (b = 0.15 [95% CI 0.005-0.025] (females)); and pain (b = 0.032 [95% CI 0.004-0.059] (males)).

CONCLUSIONS

This study found that poor sleep, low mood (more strongly in females) and more severe pain (males only) are associated with poor appetite in older adults on a daily level both within and between persons. Sex differences in factors related to poor appetite should be considered in future research.

Anorexia of aging: An international assessment of healthcare providers' knowledge and practice gaps

BACKGROUND

Anorexia of aging is a common geriatric syndrome that includes loss of appetite and/or reduced food intake, with associated undernutrition, unintended weight loss, sarcopenia, functional decline, loss of independence and other adverse health outcomes. Anorexia of aging can have multiple and severe consequences and is often overlooked by healthcare professionals (HCPs). Even more concerningly, clinicians commonly accept anorexia of aging as an inevitable part of 'normal' aging. The aim of this assessment was to identify current gaps in professional knowledge and practice in identifying and managing older persons with anorexia. Results may guide educational programmes to fill the gaps identified and therefore improve patient outcomes.

METHODS

This international assessment was conducted using a mixed-methods approach, including focus group interviews with subject matter experts and an electronic survey of practicing HCPs. The assessment was led by the Society on Sarcopenia, Cachexia and Wasting Disorders (SCWD) and was supported by in-country collaborating organizations.

RESULTS

A quantitative survey of 26 multiple-choice questions was completed by physicians, dietitians and other HCPs (n = 1545). Most HCPs (56.8%) recognize a consistent definition of anorexia of aging as a loss of appetite and/or low food intake. Cognitive changes/dementia (91%) and dysphagia (87%) are seen as the biggest risk factors. Most respondents were confident to give nutritional (62%) and physical activity (59.4%) recommendations and engaged caregivers such as family members in supporting older adults with anorexia (80.6%). Most clinicians assessed appetite at each visit (66.7%), although weight is not measured at every visit (41.5%). Apart from the Mini-Nutritional Assessment Short Form (39%), other tools to screen for appetite loss are not frequently used or no tools are used at all (29.4%). A high number of respondents (38.7%) believe that anorexia is a normal part of aging. Results show that treatment is focused on swallowing disorders (78%), dentition issues (76%) and increasing oral intake (fortified foods [75%] and oral nutritional supplements [74%]). Nevertheless, the lack of high-quality evidence is perceived as a barrier to optimal treatment (49.2%).

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from this international assessment highlight the challenges in the care of older adults with or at risk for anorexia of aging. Identifying professional practice gaps between individual HCPs and team-based gaps can provide a basis for healthcare education that is addressed at root causes, targeted to specific audiences and developed to improve individual and team practices that contribute to improving patient outcomes.

Characterisation of community-dwelling older adults with poor appetite

PURPOSE

A poor appetite affects up to 27% of community-dwelling older adults in Europe and is an early predictor of malnutrition. Little is known about the factors associated with poor appetite. The present study, therefore, aims to characterise older adults with poor appetite.

METHODS

As part of the European JPI project APPETITE, data from 850 participants, aged ≥ 70 years of the Longitudinal Ageing Study Amsterdam (LASA) from 2015/16 were analysed. Appetite during the last week was assessed with a five-point scale and dichotomised into "normal" and "poor". Binary logistic regression was used to examine associations between 25 characteristics from 5 domains-physiological, emotional, cognitive, social, and lifestyle-and appetite. First, domain-specific models were calculated using stepwise backward selection. Second, all variables contributing to poor appetite were combined in a multi-domain model.

RESULTS

The prevalence of self-reported poor appetite was 15.6%. Fourteen parameters from all five single-domain models contributed to poor appetite and were entered into the multi-domain model. Here, female sex (total prevalence: 56.1%, odds ratio: 1.95 [95% confidence interval 1.10-3.44]), self-reported chewing problems (2.4%, 5.69 [1.88-17.20]), any unintended weight loss in the last 6 months (6.7%, 3.07 [1.36-6.94]), polypharmacy defined as ≥ 5 medications in the past 2 weeks (38.4%, 1.87 [1.04-3.39]), and depressive symptoms (Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale without appetite item) (1.12 [1.04-1.21]) were associated with an increased likelihood of having poor appetite.

CONCLUSION

According to this analysis, older people with the characteristics described above are more likely to have a poor appetite.

The Autonomous Capacity of the Elderly Population in Spain for Shopping and Preparing Meals

A loss of the ability to buy and prepare meals, especially in people aged 65 and over, leads to a deterioration in their optimal level of nutrition. The Index of Autonomy in Food Acquisition (IAFA) was used to identify contributing factors. This is a composite indicator for shopping and meal preparation that can be used to assess the degree of autonomous capacity observed in a specific group. Data from the European Health Survey in Spain (7167 respondents aged 65 and over) show that capacity decreased with age and that women were less affected than men, with very little difference found in levels of autonomous capacity by territory. However, in relation to different income levels, after standardizing for age and sex, no evidence was found for differences in the ability to access and prepare meals in groups that were separated by income level. This result shows the importance of standardizing when analysing food acquisition autonomy in groups of people aged 65 years and over.

Fat-Free Mass and Total Daily Energy Expenditure Estimated using Doubly Labelled Water Predict Energy Intake in a Large Sample of Community-Dwelling Older Adults

BACKGROUND

Up to 30% of community-based older adults report reduced appetite and energy intake (EI), but previous research examining the underlying physiological mechanisms have focused on the mechanisms that suppress eating rather than the hunger drive and EI.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the associations between fat-free mass (FFM), physical activity (PA), total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) and self-reported EI in older adults.

METHODS

The present study was a secondary analysis of The Interactive Diet and Activity Tracking in AARP Study. Body composition (deuterium dilution), PA (accelerometry) and TDEE (doubly labelled water) were measured in 590 older adults (age = 63.1 ± 5.9 years; BMI = 28.1 ± 4.9 kg/m2). Total daily EI was estimated from a single 24-hour dietary recall (EIsingle; ± one month of PA and TDEE measurement) and the mean of up to six recalls over a 12-month period (EImean), with mis-reporters classified using the 95% confidence intervals between EImean and TDEE.

RESULTS

After controlling for age and sex, linear regression demonstrated that FFM and TDEE predicted EI when estimated from a single 24-hour dietary recall (p < 0.05), the mean of up to six dietary recalls (p < 0.05) and after the removal of those classified as under-reporters (p < 0.001). Age moderated the associations between FFM and EIsingle (p < 0.001), FFM and EImean (p < 0.001), and TDEE with EIsingle (p = 0.016), with associations becoming weaker across age quintiles.

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest that total daily EI is proportional to FFM and TDEE, but not fat mass, in older adults. These associations may reflect an underling drive to eat that influences daily food intake. While the associations between FFM or TDEE and EI existed across all age quintiles, these associations weakened with increasing age.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The Interactive Diet and Activity Tracking in AARP (IDATA) Study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as: NCT03268577 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov).

Recovery Focused Nutritional Therapy across the Continuum of Care: Learning from COVID-19

Targeted nutritional therapy should be started early in severe illness and sustained through to recovery if clinical and patient-centred outcomes are to be optimised. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has shone a light on this need. The literature on nutrition and COVID-19 mainly focuses on the importance of nutrition to preserve life and prevent clinical deterioration during the acute phase of illness. However, there is a lack of information guiding practice across the whole patient journey (e.g., hospital to home) with a focus on targeting recovery (e.g., long COVID). This review paper is of relevance to doctors and other healthcare professionals in acute care and primary care worldwide, since it addresses early, multi-modal individualised nutrition interventions across the continuum of care to improve COVID-19 patient outcomes. It is of relevance to nutrition experts and non-nutrition experts and can be used to promote inter-professional and inter-organisational knowledge transfer on the topic. The primary goal is to prevent complications and support recovery to enable COVID-19 patients to achieve the best possible nutritional, physical, functional and mental health status and to apply the learning to date from the COVID-19 pandemic to other patient groups experiencing acute severe illness.