Activities of daily living, quality of life and related factors in cachectic gastrointestinal cancer patients

Cancer is the leading cause of death in Taiwan. Cachexia, which causes significant weight loss and malnutrition, is a common complication and one of the major causes of death in advanced cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between personal characteristics, nutri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inHu li za zhi Vol. 54; no. 3; p. 33
Main Authors Wang, Li-Hui, Liu, Chin-Fang
Format Journal Article
LanguageChinese
Published China (Republic : 1949- ) 01.06.2007
Subjects
Activities of Daily Living
Aged
Body Weight
Cachexia - psychology
Female
Gastrointestinal Neoplasms - complications
Gastrointestinal Neoplasms - psychology
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Quality of Life
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Summary:Cancer is the leading cause of death in Taiwan. Cachexia, which causes significant weight loss and malnutrition, is a common complication and one of the major causes of death in advanced cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between personal characteristics, nutritional status, activities of daily living (ADL) and quality of life (QOL) in 40 cachectic gastrointestinal tract cancer (GI cancer) patients in southern Taiwan. A descriptive correlation study design and three structured questionnaires (including the Personal Characteristics, Index of Self-Report ADL and WHOQOL-BREF) were used. Nutritional status was assessed by measurement of body weight and triceps skin-fold thickness. The results showed that: (1) The mean ADL score was 65.73 out of 77, a medium-high score. (2) The standardized QOL score was 58.71, a medium score, with the highest score in the social relationships domain and the lowest score in the physical health domain. (3) There were some significant differenc
ISSN:0047-262X