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Undesirable loss of weight is a major challenge in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, little is known about loss of appetite in ALS patients.
We investigated loss of appetite in ALS patients by means of an online self-assessment and whether ALS-related symptoms were associated with it.
Loss of appetite in 51 ALS patients was assessed using the Council on Nutrition Appetite Questionnaire (CNAQ). Loss of appetite is defined as a CNAQ-score of 28 or less with a predicted weight loss of at least 5% within 6 months. We developed an Internet portal to facilitate self-assessment.
Approximately half of the ALS patients (47%, 24/51) suffered from severe loss of appetite; after 6 months this increased to nearly two-thirds (65%, 22/34). An average weight loss of 5% was found in the group with severe loss of appetite as compared to only 2% of patients with normal appetite. Interestingly, loss of appetite was associated with respiratory dysfunction (
Loss of appetite was more common and more severe than expected. It was found to be an independent risk factor for unintended weight loss and may be related to dyspnea. The impact of severe loss of appetite on survival and quality of life should be established in further studies.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease resulting from the progressive degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons of the spinal cord, the brainstem and the cerebral cortex.
In the course of the disease, 15-55% of patients suffer from clinically severe weight loss [
The revised ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R) is an established and internationally used self-assessment questionnaire measuring physical functions of ALS patients in activities of daily living [
In the clinical setting, ALS patients reported regularly from changes in presenting appetite associated with a decline in caloric intake (with a reduction of the portion size) during the course of the disease. The aim of the present study was to determine the frequency of loss of appetite in ALS patients. This investigation does not claim to validate the Council on Nutrition of Appetite Questionnaire (CNAQ) in ALS. We used an online patient portal to field the CNAQ—a patient reported outcome that records loss of appetite [
Between April and November 2010, 51 patients were consecutively recruited at the Department of Neurology at the Charité University Hospital of Berlin. Patients gave written informed consent for their participation. Patients with possible, probable, or definite ALS (according to the revised El Escorial Criteria [
BMI was calculated by using the formula BMI = weight (kg) / height (m)2. Malnutrition was defined by a BMI less than 18.5 kg/m2 in ALS patients up to the age of 65 years, a BMI of <20 kg/m2 in patients over 65 years [
The CNAQ was used for measuring loss of appetite. This assessment tool has not been specifically developed and validated for ALS. The CNAQ contains 8 single domain items, each rated on a 5-point scale. Thus, the total score can range between a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 40 points. While lower scores indicate deterioration in appetite, a total score of 28 or less is defined as “severe loss of appetite” and predicts a weight loss of at least 5% within the next 6 months [
In the course of ALS, patients need alternative ways of communicating, especially because of dysarthria and progressing physical impairment. An increasing number of patients rely on novel methods, such as the Internet, for communication; therefore we chose the Internet self-assessment method for completion of questionnaires. The Internet portal ALShome was created as a safe Web application for collecting patient-related data and has been described previously [
Approval was obtained from the ethical review committee and Data Security Officer from the Ethikkommission der Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, for online self-assessment.
The study population was clustered by the occurrence of ALS-associated symptoms. Functional impairment was assessed by the ALSFRS-R; the score contains 12 items, each scored from 0 to 4. According to our hypothesis, we clustered patients into 2 groups based on the following 4 categories within the ALSFRS-R: (1) swallowing impairment (mild to severe vs without), (2) dyspnea (mild to severe vs without), (3) orthopnea (mild to severe vs without), and respiratory insufficiency (using non-invasive ventilation, NIV, vs without NIV). Patients scoring between 0 to 3 points on each single ALSFRS-R item displayed mild to severe physical impairment and were thus classified as ‘”mild to severe”, while patients scoring 4 points were classified as “not functionally affected”. Within the group of patients suffering from mild to severe swallowing difficulties, individuals with percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) were excluded because the CNAQ was, by definition, not applicable in these patients [
Relevant data was recorded via the Web-based database and analyzed with PASW Statistics version 19.0 for Windows. Regarding the CNAQ independent two-sample
A total of 51 patients were enrolled in this study, including 34 males with the mean age of 58.4 (SD 9.4, range 37-73) years and 17 females with the mean average age 59.1 (SD 7.7, range 42-73) years. The mean disease duration was 31.7 (SD 24.9, range 3-125) months. We included patients with spinal (36/51, 71%), bulbar (13/51, 26%), and axial (2/51, 4%) onset. The baseline characteristics of the 51 patients including neurological, nutritional, and respiratory examination status are presented in
During the study period of 6 months, 8 patients underwent PEG. 9 patients died within the observation period. The majority of patients followed the study protocol including self-assessment throughout the 6 months of observation. Because of missing compliance and/or uncertain clinical course, 8 patients terminated the self-assessment prematurely. At baseline, assessment of appetite using the CNAQ revealed a severe loss of appetite (CNAQ≤28) in 47% (24/51) of the participants. The mean CNAQ score was 28.1 (SD 3.9, range 20-33). Participant flow is shown in
Severe loss of appetite (CNAQ≤28) was identified in 59% (17/29) of patients suffering from mild to severe dyspnea (29/51), in contrast to only 32% (7/22) of patients without dyspnea (22/51;
The multiple linear regression analysis revealed that dyspnea (
Surprisingly, there was no significant difference on mean CNAQ score within the ALSFRS-R item, swallowing impairment (see
Descriptive characteristics of the study population during baseline visit. Numbers show mean, SD, and range.
Characteristic | Total |
Male |
Female |
n (%) | 51 (100) | 34 (67) | 17 (33) |
Age at onset in years, |
56.3 (9.2, 36-72) | 55.7 (9.5, 36-71) | 57.3 (8.5, 38-72) |
Duration of disease (months), mean (SD, range) | 31.7 (24.9, 3-125) | 31.0 (25.6, 3-125) | 32.9 (24.2, 9-104) |
ALSFRS-R score, |
33.0 (8.1, 16-47) | 32.5 (7.5, 19-47) | 34.2 (9.3, 16-44) |
Weight (kg), |
72.5 (14.3, 42-105) | 77.9 (13.3, 57-105) | 61.8 (9.7, 42-84) |
BMI (kg/m2), |
23.6 (3.5, 17-32) | 24.2 (3.5, 19-32) | 22.4 (3.2, 17-29) |
Vital capacity, |
65.6 (25.4, 14-107) | 60 (25.6, 14-107) | 75.5 (22.6, 23-107) |
Spinal onset, n (%) | 36 (71) | 26 (77) | 10 (59) |
Bulbar onset, n (%) | 13 (26) | 6 (18) | 7 (41) |
Axial onset, n (%) | 2 (4) | 2 (6) | 0 (0) |
NIV, n (%) | 12 (24) | 9 (27) | 3 (18) |
Descriptive characteristics of the study population during baseline visit and after 6 months divided into CNAQ scores (CNAQ ≤ 28 and CNAQ >28). Numbers show mean, SD, and range.
Characteristics | CNAQ≤28 |
CNAQ>28 |
Female: Male | 7:17 | 10:17 |
Age at onset, mean (SD, range) | 57.8 (10,0, 36-72) | 54.4 (8.1, 37-69) |
Duration of disease (months), mean (SD, range) | 27.7 (23.8, 3-125) | 35.1 (25.8, 4-104) |
ALSFRS-R score at baseline, mean (SD, range) | 33.1 (8.0, 16-47) | 33 (8., 16-44) |
ALSFRS-R score after 6 months, mean (SD, range) | 25.9 (8.5, 15-40) | 30.6 (9.0, 17-44) |
BMI (kg/m2) at baseline, mean (SD, range) | 23.1 (3.5, 19-32) | 24.1 (3.4, 17-32) |
BMI (kg/m2) after 6 months, mean (SD, range) | 21.6 (3.3, 17-29) | 23.2 (3.7, 18-30) |
Vital Capacity at baseline, % mean (SD, range) | 64.8 (23.2, 24-103) | 70.7 (26.4, 23-107) |
Spinal onset, n (%) | 20 (83) | 16 (59) |
Bulbar onset, n (%) | 3 (13) | 10 (37) |
Axial onset, n (%) | 1 (4) | 1 (4) |
NIV, n (%) | 4 (17) | 8 (30) |
Deceased, n (%) | 7 (29) | 2 (7) |
At baseline, malnutrition was diagnosed in 46% (26/51) of the total study population [
Loss of appetite worsened over time, with the average value of the CNAQ (mean 28.1, n=51 at baseline) decreasing to a mean of 26.5 (n=31) after 6 months (
At baseline, severe loss of appetite was detected in 47% (24/51) of the patients; after 6 months this increased to 65% (22/34). During the observation period of 6 months, loss of appetite (CNAQ≤28) was associated with weight loss. The mean BMI in the severe loss of appetite group decreased significantly from 22.9 to 21.6 kg/m2 (
In conclusion, after correcting for high degree of dysphagia, an average weight loss of 5% occurred after 6 months in the group of patients with a severe loss of appetite (CNAQ≤28), compared to 2% of weight loss in patients with a CNAQ score greater than 28. Additionally, in 24 patients presenting severe loss of appetite at baseline, 7 patients died during the observation period. In contrast, 2 patients of 27, who rated their CNAQ scores higher than 28 at baseline, died.
Flowchart of appetite assessment and main results after 6 months.
Box plots of CNAQ scores in relation to accordance of dyspnea.
Box plots of CNAQ scores in the course of 6 months; patients receiving PEG (n=8) were excluded in the follow-up.
Changes in body weight over the course of 6 months in ALS patients suffering from severe loss of appetite (CNAQ ≤ 28).
Changes in body weight over the course of 6 months in ALS patients with a CNAQ score > 28.
Appetite is defined as a pleasurable sensation or a desire to eat. For the first time we wanted to measure this feeling in the course of ALS, as it is an important part of quality of life especially in chronic diseases. There have been an increasing number of ALS patients reporting lack of appetite leading to reduced food intake during medical care. Using a combination of clinical examination and online self-assessment, about half of the study population showed severe loss of appetite, defined by a CNAQ score of 28 or less. During the course of the disease, both the prevalence and severity of appetite loss worsened. Our findings contributed to the notion that reduced appetite is a common ALS-associated symptom which may impair the individual capacity to maintain adequate nutrition. Previous reports have estimated weight loss exceeding 15-25% of body weight [
In general, the CNAQ was not validated for ALS or other neurological disorders, however, we have chosen this assessment tool because of the absence of motor items. During the past several years, the interest in patient reported outcomes (PRO) has increased. The US Food and Drug Administration released different recommendations for the use of PRO in order to measure the health status, the quality of life, or the evaluation of treatments. There is a need for computer-based symptom related self-assessment from the patients’ perspective in order to optimize the treatment, to support the caregivers, and maintain the quality of life in patients better than using surrogate markers. To improve compliance and acceptance in patients, the use of an online self-assessment tool at home in a calm setting may help facilitate communication between the clinicians and their patients. Especially for immobilized patients with chronic diseases or patients in palliative care, an online tool for measuring symptoms and reporting PROs are useful tools for future treatments and studies. Further advantages of an online assessing tool are reliable storage, ubiquitous access, fast transmission, and immediate processing of data. In the sense of already established telemedicine and future infrastructural developments, it would be desirable to have a live interaction between patients and clinicians, with the possibility that clinicians could respond to critical patient information instantly via the Internet.
Our findings correspond with the clinical experience that many patients present with unintentional weight loss and a declining nutritional status, independent of dysphagia. Muscle wasting and cachexia may occur in the early course of ALS, without the presence of bulbar symptoms. Dysphagia was replaced by severe loss of appetite as the independent risk factor for unintended weight loss in ALS. The cause of appetite loss in ALS is not completely understood. Previous studies proposed a correlation between resting energy expenditure and respiratory function [
The observed effect of respiratory disturbances is unlikely to be related solely to modifications of patients´ diet due to bulbar dysfunction, since dysphagia was not a risk factor for loss of appetite. In our study, 12 patients using NIV were enrolled. Severe loss of appetite occurred less frequently in the NIV group (42%, 5/12) as compared to patients without NIV (49%, 19/39). Although it is well-known that NIV may reduce energy expenditure and prevent negative effects of dyspnea on satiety, the data of our study did not reach statistical significance and was limited by small sample numbers. However this might be an area worthy of development alongside studies of NIV effectiveness.
Limitations of the current study included recruitment of patients from a single specialist ALS center, a relatively small sample size (particularly for subgroup analysis), and the absence of detailed dietary or metabolic assessments. Despite the fact that the CNAQ has not been validated in the context of ALS, our results point towards the same direction as the prediction of at least 5% weight loss within 6 months [
However, the results of the study had benefitted from a longitudinal time course, enabled in part by the novel use of an online patient portal to collect clinically validated health data. Such systems have the potential to accelerate clinical research in ALS, whether fielded in the context of clinical management (such as ALSHome. [
Because the etiologies of severe loss of appetite are heterogeneous, several approaches to treatment of reduced appetite have been reported. However, most of the studies have been performed in the context of malnutrition from cachexia in patients with cancer [
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis functional rating scale revised
body mass index
Council on Nutrition Appetite Questionnaire
non-invasive ventilation
percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy
patient reported outcomes
The authors thank the study nurses Kerstin Krause, Dorit Strassenburg, and Birgit Koch, the institute for Biometry and Epidemiology under the leadership of Dr. Peter Martus, and the ALS patients for their participation and support.
This study received funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the AirBerlin Funds for ALS Research.
None declared.