Diet Quality in a Nationally Representative Sample of American Adult Cancer Survivors (P05-028-19)

Abstract

ObjectivesMany epidemiology studies showed diet quality before cancer diagnosis is associated with cancer survivor’s mortality, however, there is very limited information on Healthy Eating Index 2015 (HEI-2015) scores among American adult cancer survivors. This study aimed to use the HEI-2015 to evaluate the diet quality of nationally representative samples of American adult cancer survivors overall and by various sociodemographic variables. MethodsNational Health and Examination Surveys (NHANES) dietary data (2005–2016) were used to compute HEI-2015 total and component scores by use of the population ratio method for adult cancer survivors aged ≥ 20 y. Diet-quality scores were calculated overall and by age (20–29, 30–44, 45–64, and ≥65 y), gender, race or ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), family poverty-to-income ratio (below and at or above the poverty threshold), and time since the first cancer diagnosis. HEI-2015 mean total and component scores along with 95% confidence limits were reported. ResultsTotal sample consisted of 2635 adult cancer survivors with a mean age of 62.4 and a BMI of 29.0 kg/m2. The average time since cancer diagnosis was 11.5 years. The HEI-2015 mean total score for cancer survivors overall was 56.2 (range 22.2–99.5). As age increased, the total scores increased; the total score was significantly higher for survivors in the oldest age group compared with the other 3 younger age groups (58.2 vs. 50.6, 52.3, and 54.9, respectively). The total score was significantly lower for adults with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2compared to adults with BMI < 25.0 kg/m2 (53.4 vs. 58.5). Non-Hispanic black survivors had a significantly lower total score compared with survivors of non-Hispanic White and of other races (53.4 vs. 56.3 and 57.5, respectively), but there is no significant difference compared with Mexican American survivors (53.4 vs. 54.7). Neither gender nor time since cancer diagnosis affect the total mean score, but significant differences were found between poverty threshold classes (52.2 vs. 56.6). ConclusionsThe diet quality of American adult cancer survivors remains low overall, with significant disparities across some sociodemographic populations, particularly age, race or ethnicity, BMI, and poverty level. The results can help identify at-risk populations who need more guidance in their eating to improve their survival. Funding SourcesUniversity of Central Florida.