| Resumo: | Introduction: The field of nutrition within palliative care is a pertinent topic concerning the quality of life for individuals with chronic, often severe and incurable, diseases. Dementia is a systemic neurological syndrome characterized by progressive, irreversible worsening, whose prevalence has been increasing due to population aging. Thus, dementia syndromes are increasingly addressed by healthcare professionals in palliative care from a multidimensional perspective. Nutritional support has become a dilemma for patients with advanced dementia. At all stages of the disease, decisions regarding dietary interventions must be made individually, carefully weighing the potential expected benefit and its impact, considering the patient's wishes and the clinical prognosis of the disease. Objetives: In patients with dementia, demonstrate the importance of nutritional support, present the current state of the art in the field of nutrition and gather recommendations with evidence-based support on nutritional care in patients with dementia. Methods: A review of existing literature. The bibliographic search was conducted from January 2004 to January 2024 in the databases MEDLINE/PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge, Evidence-based Medicine online (BMJ), and Cochrane. Results: In people with dementia, adherence to a nutritionally rich diet was found to influence cognitive outcomes, and the reverse may also be true: people may experience changes in appetite, food preferences, and eating habits, both before diagnosis and as part of dementia itself. The Mediterranean diet reduces inflammation and oxidative stress, and is also associated with a reduction in brain volume loss and slower progression of Alzheimer's dementia. The severe cognitive deterioration of advanced dementia affects patients' functional capacity, particularly in terms of swallowing. Tube feeding is associated with a higher risk of infectious complications, increased use of restraints, and development of pressure ulcers. Conclusion: The relationship between diet, physical activity and other lifestyle measures and cognitive function has been intensively studied, with increasing evidence supporting the role of these determinants in the development of mild cognitive impairment and, later, dementia. On the other hand, in advanced stages of dementia, the patient's comfort should be prioritized, minimizing painful procedures not suitable for this stage of life. |
|---|
Um serviço digital da FCT