Abstract
A high diet quality is associated with a lower risk of cancer mortality. However, the predictive factors of diet quality among cancer patients are not well understood. This study determines the socio-demographic and disease-related factors that affect diet quality among cancer patients. Two hundred and forty-two cancer patients completed questionnaires assessing sociodemographic and disease-related characteristics. Diet quality was measured using the Healthy Eating Index 2010 (HEI). Independent sample t-tests and one-way ANOVA with post-hoc analysis using the Tukey HSD test were used to compare mean HEI scores across these characteristics. A regression model was used to determine factors that predicted diet quality. The overall HEI score among cancer patients was 61.59 (SD = 11.67). Patients with a high school degree or General Education Diploma (GED) or less had lower HEI scores (β = −4.03, p = 0.04; β = −7.77, p = 0.001, respectively) compared to those with college degrees. Additionally, homemakers had significantly higher HEI scores (β = 7.95, p = 0.008) compared to those who worked at least 40 hours per week. Also, individuals with some types of cancers (e.g., endometrial or uterine) had significantly higher HEI scores (β = 12.56, p = 0.002) than those with other cancers (e.g., head and neck). Our findings will help oncology healthcare providers identify and target cancer patients with specific demographic characteristics who are at increased risk for consuming poor-quality diets with much needed food resource interventions.
Highlights
Dietary factors account for the onset of several chronic diseases including cancer [1].The consumption of poor diets affects the progression, management, and outcome of these diseases [1]
Our findings will help oncology healthcare providers identify and target cancer patients with specific demographic characteristics who are at increased risk for consuming poor-quality diets with much needed food resource interventions
≥college degree, unemployed, ≥$4000/month, do not pay bills late, no federal food assistance, no private food assistance, never smoker, and head/neck cancer; b Homemaker was differentiated from unemployed because homemakers are usually unemployed by choice. We found this cohort of cancer patients to have a better diet quality compared to the general US
Summary
Dietary factors account for the onset of several chronic diseases including cancer [1]. The consumption of poor diets affects the progression, management, and outcome of these diseases [1]. The assessment of dietary consumption patterns can be achieved by the determination of individual food and nutrient intake. Because of the synergistic way various dietary components function in the body, an evaluation of the overall diet based on a summary index may provide a more comprehensive analysis [2]. Diet quality is a concept used in evaluating and summarizing a population’s dietary habits and patterns in relation to factors such as compliance to dietary guidelines and nutrient adequacy. The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) is a validated multi-dimensional index of diet quality based on adherence to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans
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