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Objective: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic, progressive disease commonly affecting the elderly. Among patients with PD (pwPD), those above 60 years old are considered to be at high risk of malnutrition. Weight loss is a common complaint in pwPD. Thus, we defined the risk factors for malnutrition in geriatric pwPD. Materials and Methods: We enrolled 66 pwPD above the age of 60 years. Socio-demographic features were recorded and comprehensive geriatric assessments were evaluated. Malnutrition was assessed using a mini-nutritional assessment questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements including body mass index, mid-upper arm circumference, and calf circumference (CC) were recorded. Results: Seven (10.6%) pwPD had malnutrition, 22 (33.3%) pwPD were at risk of malnutrition. Univariate logistic regression analysis results revealed that low CC, presence of dyskinesia, advanced Hoehn & Yahr stage, levodopa doses of ≥400 mg/day, and difficulty in swallowing (p=0.035, p=0.041, p=0.048, p=0.027 and p=0.007, respectively) were strongly related to malnutrition among the pwPD. Difficulty in swallowing was independently related to malnutrition in pwPD [odds ratio: 7.81 (confidence interval: 2.17-28.10), p=0.002]. Conclusion: PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the geriatric population and is likely to cause malnutrition because of several disabling symptoms in the progressive course of the disease, such as dysphagia. To avoid or delay poorer outcomes, clinicians should be careful to identify malnutrition with appropriate screening tools during follow-up of pwPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Objective: Blood neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) indicated an increased inflammation in cardiac, rheumatologic, cancer, and some geriatric syndromes. This study aimed to determine the diagnostic value of NLR in the diagnosis of malnutrition or severity. Materials and Methods: A total of 303 elderly patients were included in this study. A comprehensive geriatric assessment was performed on each patient, and the mini nutritional assessment tool was used to assess the nutritional status. The hemogram values of all patients were investigated to determine an NLR inflammatory marker. Results: Logistic regression analysis showed that the presence and risk of malnutrition were independently associated with NLR, hemoglobin, hematocrit, albumin, age, and smoking in univariate analysis. Of the above independent variables, body mass index, hematocrit, and vitamin B12 were found to be significantly associated with malnutrition and risk of malnutrition in multivariate analysis. This study revealed that patients with malnutrition and those at risk of malnutrition have elevated NLR than those with normal nutritional status. However, it was not significantly associated with multivariate analysis. Conclusion: A variety of etiological factors and mild or severe inflammation in the course of concomitant diseases cannot be overlooked in the current state of patients. Therefore, laboratory or clinical criteria other than the NLR would be useful for early detection of the relationship between malnutrition and inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...