Nutritional status and quality of life of the gastric cancer patients in Changle County of China

AIM: To analyze the relation between nutrition and quality of life in the stomach cancer patients, evaluate the intake of daily nutrition of the patients, and study the feasibility of nutrition intervention in improving quality of life of the stomach cancer patients. METHODS: A total of 285 surgical stomach cancer patients reported in the Changle Cancer Registry from 2002 to 2003 were investigated with respect to their diet and quality of life. Daily nutrition intakes of the patients were calculated according to the Food Composition Database, and these data were compared with the reference values proposed by the Chinese Nutrition Society. The partial correlation was used to analyze the relationship between nutrition and quality of life in the patients. Stepwise multiple regression analyses were conducted to analyze the factors influencing nutrition intake in stomach cancer patients. RESULTS: Except vitamin C, there were statistical correlations between the nutrition and quality of life in stomach cancer patients, and differences of the daily nutrition intake among three groups (good, modest and bad quality of life) of the patients were significant. Most of the stomach cancer patients had a lower daily nutrition intake than the reference values. At the significance level alpha = 0.05, the factors influencing the daily nutrition intake of the patients were number of meals a day, family income, way of operation, exercise and age. CONCLUSION: The nutritional status of the operated patients with stomach cancer may impact on their quality of life. The stomach cancer patients in Changle County have a low level of daily nutrition intake, which suggests that they have a bad nutritional status. To improve the quality of life of the patients, the nutrition intervention should be conducted. Increasing times of meals a day and having a high-protein, high-calorie foods can improve the nutritional status of the stomach cancer patients. Moreover, exercise for rehabilitation can whet the appetite of the patients and recover their body function, which in turn may improve the quality of life of the stomach cancer patients.