Cognitive Function Predicts Risk for Clinically Significant Weight Gain in Adults With Heart Failure.
Mary A Dolansky, Misty A W Hawkins, Julie T Schaefer and 7 others
PMID 27811583WHAT IT FOUND
Cognitive function was not associated with daily weighing adherence.
Better attention, executive function, and memory were each associated with being less likely to have a clinically significant weight gain.
Key findings
01The main outcome, daily weighing adherence, was not associated with attention, executive function, or memory.
02Higher attention, executive function, and memory scores were each associated with a lower likelihood of experiencing a weight gain incidence.
03Only 35% (n=105) knew at baseline when to call a provider about weight gain, and 65% (n=66) of 102 participants with a weight gain who completed the questionnaire did not report it.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was mostly White (72.0%) and from Northeast Ohio, so results may not generalise to other race-ethnicities or locations. Providing participants with a scale, calendar, and instructions may have increased daily weighing adherence, so the measured behaviour may not reflect their usual routine. 8.6% (n=26) did not provide weight data, although there were no baseline differences. Daily weighing adherence was negatively skewed and could not be transformed to a normal distribution. The main outcome, daily weighing adherence, was null; the positive finding concerned a separate weight gain incidence outcome. The parent study enrolled 372 patients, but the current analyses used 301 participants for weighing adherence and 275 for weight gain incidence.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 6%, 3%, and 5% lower likelihoods as proof that cognitive impairment caused weight gain or that improving cognition will prevent it. The study was observational, and the main outcome, daily weighing adherence, showed no association with cognitive function.