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Tools for Nutrition Assessment of Adults with Cerebral Palsy: Development of a Gold Standard

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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders caused by non-stabilized cerebral lesions. Individuals with this disorder are at a higher risk of suffering from malnutrition and other related detrimental effects to their quality of life. For this reason, accurate methods of nutritional assessment are vital for people suffering from this condition. While assessment of nutritional status in children with CP has been extensively studied, very few studies have been carried out on adults. These limitations are due to the great anatomical-functional variability characteristic of this syndrome. Difficulties that derive from this variability in adult patients with CP mean that there remains an urgent need for certain standards of nutritional assessment for this population. The objective of this review is to compile the latest trends in nutritional assessment in adults with CP to guide the development of a conceptual framework for future research.

Recent Findings

With this aim, relevant studies have been identified. The most commonly used technique to evaluate nutritional status is the BMI because of its ease-of-use. However, its well-known limitations fail to adequately estimate the nutritional status in this population, with measurements of patients with CP yielding results that are much less accurate than those that already exist in the general population.

Summary

Although more studies are needed, kinanthropometry is considered one of the most reliable techniques; nevertheless, the anatomical limitation characteristic of CP plays a limiting factor.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Food & Health Lab. Instituto de Ciencias de los Materiales, Universitat de València, C/ Catedrático José Beltrán 2, 46980, Paterna, Valencia, Spain

    D. Expósito, J. M. Soriano & C. Soler

  2. Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Universidad Católica de Valencia, 46001, Valencia, Spain

    D. Expósito

  3. Department of Nutrition, Universidad Católica de Valencia, 46001, Valencia, Spain

    D. Expósito

  4. Joint Research Unit On Endocrinology, Nutrition and Clinical Dietetics, UV-IIS La Fe, 46012, Valencia, Spain

    J. M. Soriano & C. Soler

  5. Unit of Public Health and Environmental Care, Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Valencia, 46100, Burjassot, Valencia, Spain

    M. M. Morales-Suarez

  6. CIBER Epidemiologia Y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Institute of Health Carlos III, Madrid, Spain

    M. M. Morales-Suarez

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  1. D. Expósito
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Conceptualization: David Exposito and Carla Soler; methodology: David Exposito; writing—original draft: David Exposito; writing—review and editing: David Expósito and Carla Soler; supervision: Carla Soler, María Morales, and Jose Miguel Soriano; project administration: Carla Soler.

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Expósito, D., Morales-Suarez, M.M., Soriano, J.M. et al. Tools for Nutrition Assessment of Adults with Cerebral Palsy: Development of a Gold Standard. Curr Nutr Rep 12, 545–553 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-023-00485-w

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