CLINICAL AND NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF BREAST CANCER PATIENTS: A CROSSSECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Mortality due to breast cancer is high due to detection at advanced stages. The investigation was carried out to determine the prevalence of risk factors among breast cancer patients. A cross-sectional survey on 98 subjects enrolled from two purposively selected government hospitals in the cities of Kota and Vadodara was carried out. Information pertaining to their socio-economic status, anthropometric measurements, dietary profile and medical history were recorded using a semi-structured pre-tested questionnaire. Majority of the subjects enrolled were in the age range of 41-60 years (59.2%) and were in stage II of cancer (65.3%). Most of the subjects (78.6%) in the study were physically inactive. Family history for cancer, obesity, diabetes, hypertension and coronary heart disease was absent in 90-95% of the subjects. Reproductive and menstrual history variables were normal among the subjects. Around 46% of the subjects were found to be overweight or obese. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy were the primary modes of treatment received by the subjects. Around 98% of the subjects had low consumption of fruits and vegetables (less than 4 times/week). The dietary intake of calories, protein and iron was low. Dietary fat contributed greater than 30% towards the calorie intake. Baseline hemoglobin levels revealed a large number of the subjects to be anaemic (84.4%). In conclusion, the results obtained indicated that in the absence of heredity, and with normal reproductive and menstrual history, lifestyle variables could play a decisive role in precipitating the clinical condition, thus necessitating lifestyle modifications focussing on healthy diets and physical activity in order to optimize health.