Association Between Nutritional Status and Health Outcome

Document Type:Research Paper

Subject Area:Nursing

Document 1

(2018) supports this definition and describes nutritional status as the equilibrium achieved between nutrient intake and the use of these nutrients for reproduction, growth, and maintenance of health. The global measure for nutritional status is body mass index. The consumption of insufficient energy results in low body mass index. Nutritional deficiency is a component of malnutrition. According to the World Health Organization, malnutrition can be grouped into three namely undernutrition which entails underweight, stunting, and wasting; micronutrient-related malnutrition which involves micronutrient deficiencies or excesses; and diet-related noncommunicable diseases. These authors describe malnutrition as a significant concern that exacerbates the prognosis of people dealing with neurodegenerative disorders. These conditions lead to a substantial loss in nerve structure and function which in turn results in a gradual decline in cognitive abilities like decision-making and memory.

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Neurodegenerative diseases include Parkinson’ disease and dementia, among others. Some of these conditions cause significant alterations in consciousness levels or swallowing processes. For that reason, expert nutritional support becomes necessary for the patients. It was thus concluded that malnutrition is a predictor of quality of life (Lis et al. For the other types of cancers, similar results were obtained. In the case of lung cancer, the sample population was grouped into two. Based on whether they had lost less than 5% or more than 5% of the weight, the groups consisted of people with stable weight and the other with loss of weight. Those with stable weight reported less fatigue and an overall better health outcome while the weight-loss group had a poor health status.

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The assessment of nutritional status was done through Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) questionnaires, anthropometric measures and measuring the level of certain nutrients. It was found that AD patients had significantly lower levels of uridine and plasma selenium. The conclusions drawn from this research was that restrained differences in nutritional status already existed in the absence of malnutrition and the early stages of AD. However, people with undernutrition presented with more rapid aggravation to the condition (Tsagalioti et al. Another condition that was evaluated is dementia. In this regard, it can be concluded that individualized assessment through the use of various assessment tools is imperative to creating a proper and extensive nutritional support. Conclusion From the studies explored above, it is evident that an association exists between nutritional status and health outcomes.

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