Need and demand for nutritional counselling and their association with quality of life, nutritional status and eating-related distress among patients with cancer receiving outpatient chemotherapy: a cross-sectional study

PurposePatients with cancer often experience general nutritional problems as the disease progresses. We aimed to examine if there is a need and demand for nutritional counselling among cancer outpatients, and explore relevant psychological factors pertaining to eating and nutrition.MethodsA survey was conducted among adult patients receiving outpatient chemotherapy at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital. The participants completed self-report questionnaires, which included questions on their nutritional state (Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment Short Form), experience of eating-related distress and quality of life (QOL) (European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-C30).ResultsOf the 151 (median age, 66.5years) participants, 42 had a demand for nutritional counselling. Patients' experience of eating-related distress and demand for nutritional counselling were significantly associated, particularly in regard to conflicts over food between patients and the people surrounding them' (p=0.005), concerns about food' (p=0.007) and self-motivated effect related to nutrition' (p=0.018). A significant association was also observed between the demand for nutritional counselling and global health status (p=0.028), emotional functioning (p=0.022), cognitive functioning (p=0.028) and social functioning (p=0.040) in terms of QOL. Patients with a low QOL tended to demand nutritional counselling.ConclusionsThe demand for nutritional counselling was associated with QOL and eating-related distress. Therefore, medical staff caring for patients with cancer, such as attending physicians, dietitians, nurses, clinical psycho-oncologists, social workers and psychiatric oncologists, should collaborate and share information to provide nutritional counselling.