Effect of malnutrition and nutritional support to reduce infections in elderly hospitalized patients with cancer: A multicenter survey in China

• Published in: Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.) Vol. 106; p. 111894
• Main Authors: Li, Wanyang, Yang, Yaming, Li, Zijian, Chen, Wei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.02.2023; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Aged; anorexia; Appetite; Appetite loss; blood; Body mass index; Cancer; China; clinical examination; confidence interval; Confidence intervals; Constipation; dietary recommendations; Dietary supplements; Dietitians; Digestive system; Eating behavior; elderly; Elderly hospitalized patients with cancer; Hospitalization; Hospitals; Humans; Infection; Infections; Inflammation; Laboratories; Malnutrition; Malnutrition - diagnosis; Malnutrition - epidemiology; Malnutrition - etiology; medical history; Medical records; Medical research; Mortality; Neoplasms - complications; Neoplasms - therapy; Nutrition; Nutrition Assessment; Nutritional Status; Nutritional support; Nutritional Support - methods; odds ratio; Older people; parenteral feeding; Parenteral nutrition; Patients; Quality of Life; Questionnaires; Regression analysis; Respiratory system; Statistical analysis; Surveys; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tumors; Vomiting; China; Infection; Elderly hospitalized patients with cancer; Malnutrition; Nutritional support
• ISSN: 0899-9007; 1873-1244; 1873-1244
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nut.2022.111894

•Many hospitalized elderly patients with cancer have local or systemic infections.•Good nutritional condition is associated with lower rates of infection.•Receiving nutritional treatment is associated with lower rates of infection. Malnutrition is common among elderly patients with cancer, and greatly affects patients’ quality of life. Malnutrition is a key factor in the development of systemic, chronic, low-grade inflammation that can exacerbate. A total of 633 elderly patients with cancer from 29 tertiary public hospitals in 14 cities in China were selected as the research subjects. Physical examination, questionnaire survey, medical history collection, and blood index detection were performed on the research subjects to analyze the relationship between malnutrition, nutritional support, and infection status. There was no significant difference in infection rate among elderly hospitalized patients with cancer and different cancer types, cancer stages, or therapy methods (P > 0.05). The proportion of vomiting, loss of appetite, depression, and physical fatigue in patients with good nutritional status were lower than in patients with moderate or severe malnutrition (P < 0.05). Nutritional support is crucial for the nutritional status of elderly patients with cancer, and patients without special nutritional guidance are more likely to develop infection (P < 0.05). After adjusting for confounding variables, the results of the logistic regression analysis showed that oral nutritional supplements (odds ratio [OR]: 0.088; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.015–0.514), parenteral nutrition (OR: 0.091; 95% CI, 0.011–0.758), and individualized nutritional guidance (OR: 0.026; 95% CI, 0.003–0.202) were all protective factors associated with cancer infection. Many elderly hospitalized patients with cancer have local or systemic infections, and good nutrition is associated with lower rates of infection. Receiving nutritional guidance or support is associated with lower infection rates in elderly patients with cancer.