Dietary patterns and health‐related quality of life among Korean breast cancer survivors

Abstract

BackgroundHealthy dietary pattern may be associated with health‐related quality of life (HRQL) among breast cancer survivors.Objectives:We examined the association between dietary patterns and HRQL in a cross‐sectional study of Korean breast cancer survivors.Methods:A total of 153 women aged 21 to 79 years who had been diagnosed with breast cancer of the American Joint Committee on Cancer stage I to III and had breast cancer surgery at least 6 months before baseline were included. HRQL was assessed by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer core questionnaire and breast module. We conducted factor analysis to identified major dietary patterns from the 3‐day food record and calculated pattern scores. We used generalized linear model to obtain least squares means of HRQL according to quartiles of pattern scores.Results:We identified 2 major dietary patterns: “Soy product and vegetable pattern” and “Kimchi and whole grain pattern”. Breast cancer survivors with high scores of Soy product and vegetable pattern were more likely to have insomnia (P trend = 0.05), whereas those with high scores of Kimchi and whole grain pattern were less likely to have dyspnea (P trend = 0.002), with more apparent association for stage I breast cancer survivors (P trend < 0.001). Also, better global health status and quality of life was observed among stage II or III breast cancer survivors with high scores of Soy product and vegetable pattern (P trend = 0.03).ConclusionsOur study suggests the evidence that breast cancer survivors may have different dietary patterns according to their quality of life.