The association between malnutrition and psychological distress in patients with advanced head-and-neck cancer

Current Oncology

M.R. Chasen¹  A. Feldstain²  L. Ma¹  P. Poulin³ 

[1] The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre;University of Ottawa;The Ottawa Hospital Health Institute

关键词: Head-and-neck cancer;    late effects;    psychological distress;    malnutrition;    screening;    symptoms;   

DOI  :  

学科分类：肿瘤学

来源: Multimed, Inc.

【 摘 要 】

Objective Malnutrition and psychological distress are often seen in patients with head-and-neck cancer, but little is known about the interrelationships between those two symptoms. The present study examined the relationship between malnutrition and psychological distress in patients with advanced head-and-neck cancer. Methods Using the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment, 99 patients with advanced-stage headand- neck cancer were screened for nutrition status. The patients were also screened for psychosocial distress (using the Distress Thermometer) and for psychosocial issues (using the Problem Checklist). Any relationship between malnutrition and psychosocial distress was determined by regression and correlation analysis. We also used t-tests to compare distress levels for patients with and without specific nutrition-related symptoms. Results The study group included 80 men and 19 women [mean age: 58.4 ± 10.9 years (range: 23–85 years)]. The correlation between poorer nutrition status and level of psychological distress was significantr= 0.37 ( p< 0.001). Specifically, reduced food intake and symptoms were both positively associated with distress:r= 0.27 andr= 0.29 respectively, both significant atp< 0.01. After controlling for the effects of psychosocial problems and pain, nutrition status remained a significant predictor of distress, explaining 3.8% of the variance in the distress scores of the patients ( p< 0.05). Conclusions Malnutrition and symptoms were strongly related to distress in patients with advanced head-and-neck cancer. Our results suggest the need for further research into the complex relationship between nutrition status and distress and into the management of both nutrition and distress in cancer care.

【 授权许可】

Unknown