Abstract
Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the nutrition profile of advanced cancer patients who were admitted to specialized home palliative care.
Methods: A consecutive sample of home care patients at admission of home care was assessed. Depression, anxiety, nausea, poor appetite, and poor well-being were measured by numerical scale 0-10. Mini nutritional assessment form (MNA-SF), fatigue assessment scale (FAS), and sarcopenia bySARC-F. were performed. The use of drugs used for anorexia, including corticosteroids, progestins, or others, was recorded.
Results: Data of 135 patients were analyzed.Sixty-eight per cent and 77% of patients resulted to bee malnourished and sarcopenic. In the multivariate regression analysis, anxiety (p=0.036) and total FAS (p=0.013) were independently associated with malnutrition. Fifty-five per cent of patients were receiving corticosteroids or megestol acetate. No significant associations with parameters examined were found.
Conclusion: The majority of advanced cancer patients admitted to home palliative care were malnourished independently of the primary tumor diagnosis. Indeed, fatigue and anxiety were independently associated with malnutrition
Citations
Related Research
