The Associations between Dietary Supplement Use, Diet Quality, and Health-Related Quality of Life among Older Female Cancer Survivors

Abstract

Evidence-based guidelines for cancer survivorship do not recommend dietary supplementation, yet older cancer survivors report high prevalence of dietary supplement use, specifically multivitamin (MVM), calcium, and vitamin D. Female cancer survivors (≥65 years) who were ≤5 years post-cancer diagnosis completed questionnaires assessing health-related quality of life (HRQoL), diet quality, and supplement intake. Intakes of MVM, calcium, and vitamin D supplementation were 61.4%, 76.9%, and 35.3%, respectively. Women who used MVM supplements had significantly higher dietary quality mean scores for total vegetables (4.5 ± 0.9 to 4.1 ± 1.1), greens and beans (4.1 ± 1.3 to 3.6 ± 1.6), whole fruit (4.7 ± 0.8 to 4.3 ± 1.3), and whole grains (2.9 ± 1.8 to 2.3 ± 1.6) than those who did not use these supplements. After controlling for demographic and clinical variables, the odds of MVM use was 1.07 times greater among those women who had higher total HEI scores. Participants with lower HRQoL were 4% more likely to take an MVM. Understanding the prevalence of supplementation, associations with diet quality, and perceived benefits of supplementation may help healthcare providers in educating survivors and promoting adherence to the evidence-based guidelines.