Malnutrition risk and related factors in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective: Cancer can widely influence the nutritional status of the patients, which could exacerbate the related complications and subsequently, counteract the treatment efficiency. Cancer-related malnutrition is one of the most common complications of these patients. Therefore, this research was conducted to evaluate the nutritional status of the patients with cancer by the malnutrition universal screening tool (MUST) questionnaire and implementation of the appropriate interventions in order to improve the quality of life and alleviate the complications. Patients and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 71 patients with cancer, undergoing chemotherapy, admitted to the Oncology Unit of Shahid Jalil Hospital in Yasuj (Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, Iran) from April 22 to May 22, 2019 considering the Ethical issues in data collection (IR.YUMS.REC.1398.004). Results: Results of the study showed a significant relationship between the age and cancer type with malnutrition risk in the patients (p=0.043, p =0.008, respectively). A significant relationship was also found between the gender and risk of malnutrition (p =0.033) so that, 48.65% of men were at high risk for malnutrition, and gastrointestinal and breast cancers were the most frequent types of cancer in this work (42.25 and 28.17%, respectively). Totally, 62% of patients had moderate to severe malnutrition. Conclusions: High prevalence of malnutrition was observed in the studied patients based on the MUST scores. Therefore, timely diagnose of the cancer-related malnutrition and applying the appropriate intervention strategies play a pivotal role in improving the quality of life and decreasing the survival rate of cancer.

Keywords

• malnutrition
• cancer
• nutritional status
• nutrition assessment