Nucleo de Oncologia da Bahia (NOB), Salvador, Brazil.
Department of Nutrition Sciences, School of Nutrition, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, 40110-150, Brazil.
Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2021 Mar 17;19(1):90. doi: 10.1186/s12955-021-01735-7.
Quality of Life (QoL) is impaired in cancer, and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition. A diagnosis of cancer in elderly patients further exacerbates risks of negative health outcomes. Here we investigated associations between QoL and nutritional status in a sample population of mostly socially deprived elderly cancer patients.
432 cancer patients were recruited for this cross-sectional study at point of admission to a tertiary referral hospital for cancer treatment. Patient-generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA) assessed nutritional status. Functional assessment of cancer therapy- general (FACT-G) quantified QoL. Relationship between PG-SGA and QoL was assessed by Spearman correlation. PG-SGA outcomes were compared against FACT-G scores employing Mann-Whitney test. Bivariate Linear Regression Model was employed to investigate influences of sociodemographic, clinical and nutritional status upon QoL.
37.5% of participants were malnourished or at risk. 39% were illiterate and 54.6% had family income lower than minimum wage. Malnourished patients showed lower FACT-G scores (76.8 vs. 84.7; p = 0.000). Poor nutritional diagnosis was inversely correlated with all QoL domains. Bivariate regression analysis showed that lower PG-SGA scores (βo = - 1.00; p = 0.000) contributed to FACT-G score deterioration, the male gender showed better QoL scores, and other clinical and sociodemographic variables did not show relationship.
Poorer nutritional status was significantly associated with worsened physical, social, emotional and functional well-being QoL domains in elderly cancer patients. Poorer nutritional status is an independent risk factor for worsened QoL. Future policies aimed at particularly vulnerable populations may improve QoL and health outcomes.
癌症会降低生活质量（QoL），老年人尤其容易出现营养不良。老年癌症患者的诊断会进一步增加负面健康结果的风险。本研究旨在调查生活质量与营养状况在以社会弱势群体为主的老年癌症患者中的关联。
本横断面研究共纳入 432 名在一家癌症治疗的三级转诊医院接受治疗的癌症患者。患者自评的总体主观评估（PG-SGA）用于评估营养状况。癌症患者生活质量功能评估-一般（FACT-G）量表用于量化生活质量。采用 Spearman 相关分析评估 PG-SGA 与 QoL 的相关性。采用 Mann-Whitney 检验比较 PG-SGA 结果与 FACT-G 评分。采用二元线性回归模型探讨社会人口统计学、临床和营养状况对生活质量的影响。
37.5%的参与者存在营养不良或处于营养不良风险中。39%的参与者为文盲，54.6%的家庭收入低于最低工资标准。营养不良的患者的 FACT-G 评分较低（76.8 比 84.7；p=0.000）。较差的营养诊断与所有生活质量领域呈负相关。二元回归分析表明，较低的 PG-SGA 评分（βo=−1.00；p=0.000）导致 FACT-G 评分恶化，男性的生活质量评分更好，而其他临床和社会人口统计学变量则与生活质量无关。
较差的营养状况与老年癌症患者的身体、社会、情感和功能健康状况恶化的生活质量领域显著相关。较差的营养状况是生活质量恶化的独立危险因素。针对弱势群体的未来政策可能会改善生活质量和健康结果。
