Prevalence of Malnutrition in Patients with Parkinson's Disease: A Comparative Study with Healthy Controls using Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) Questionnaire

Background: The magnitude of malnutrition in the Parkinson's disease (PD) population has yet to be accurately quantified. Objective: We aimed to estimate and compare the prevalence of malnourished and those at risk of malnutrition in Iranian PD patients with a matched control group using the mini nutritional assessment (MNA) and anthropometric measurements. Methods: Nutritional status was evaluated in 143 Iranian PD patients (case group) and 145 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (control group) using the validated Persian version of the MNA. Individuals suffering from chronic comorbidities influencing nutritional state (hypertension and diabetes), following special diets and those with cognitive impairment were excluded. Using the MNA, a total score of <17 indicated malnutrition and scores of 17-23.5 signified cases at risk for malnutrition. Results: The mean of total MNA score was not significantly different between two study groups [24.4 (SD = 3.8) in controls vs. 25.1 (SD = 3.4) in PD patients; P = 0.094]. Three (2.1%) PD patients were suffering from malnutrition and another 37 (25.9%) were at risk of malnutrition; while in control group similar feature was observed (2.0% malnourished and 35.2% at risk of malnutrition; P = 0.228). The mean of calf circumference (CC) was significantly lower in PD patients [34.9 (SD = 3.8) cm vs. 36.0 (SD = 5.1) cm; P = 0.046]. Conclusions: Our findings indicate the same nutritional status among mild to moderate PD patients compared with healthy controls. However, more than a quarter of the PD population was found to be at risk of malnutrition necessitating more attention towards nutritional assessment in PD.