Abstract
BackgroundNegative feelings, such as anxiety and depression, are common in patients with cancer. Our aim was to investigate the prevalence of malnutrition and distress in cancer patients and to examine the relationship between them.Materials and methodsWe did a cross-sectional study in West China hospital, China, using adapted questionnaires derived from Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA), Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS2002) and Distress Thermometer (DT). We also focused on the factors associated with distress.ResultsWe found that psychological distress in cancer patients was common, with 39.5% patients suffering from distress. The mean score of PG-SGA was 3.37 (0–6), and 39.1% patients had malnutrition when using 4 as a cut-off value. Meanwhile, the mean score of NRS2002 was 1.91 (0–11), and 25.8% patients presented with malnutrition when using 3 as the cut-off value. Higher scores of nutritional risks confirmed by PG-SGA (r = 0.148, p < 0.001) and NRS2002 (r = 0.142, p < 0.001) were significantly correlated with higher levels of psychological stress.ConclusionMalnutrition was correlated with psychological stress in cancer patients. Early intervention in the mental problems and nutrition was meaningful, which could improve the psychological statuses of cancer patients.
Highlights
Negative feelings, such as anxiety and depression, are common in patients with cancer
We found that psychological distress in cancer patients was common, with 39.5% patients suffering from distress
Higher scores of nutritional risks confirmed by Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) (r = 0.148, p < 0.001) and Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS2002) (r = 0.142, p < 0.001) were significantly correlated with higher levels of psychological stress
Summary
Our aim was to investigate the prevalence of malnutrition and distress in cancer patients and to examine the relationship between them Negative feelings, such as anxiety and depression, are common in patients with cancer, which may come from economic status, pain, and treatment-related side effects [1, 2]. Medical and psychological interventions of negative feelings could be of benefit to deal with clinical symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and alopecia [3, 4]. These treatments can relieve the suffering of patients and their families, and may help them receive further life-saving treatments. Whether malnutrition is an important risk factor of distress is still not clear
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
