Association of malignant neoplasms and impaired nutritional status in patients receiving palliative care

Abstract

Malnutrition is one of the most common disorders observed in patients who are being treated for various diseases. In cancer patients with a palliative profile, compared with patients without malignant neoplasms, anemia, lymphopenia, decreased glomerular filtration rate were significantly more often detected, and a tendency to lower albumin levels was revealed. There was a significant decrease in PNI, BMI, shoulder circumference, thickness of the skin‑fat fold of the scapula and shoulder, and a tendency to reduce lean body weight in patients with palliative malignancies. The logistic regression analysis revealed the relationship between the presence of a malignant tumor in palliative patients and the presence of trophic status disorders: PNI (β = –0.37, p = 0.021), weight (β = –0.41, p = 0.001), BMI (β = –0.36, p = 0.001), shoulder circumference (β =–0.65, p = 0.001), thickness of the scapular skin‑fat fold (β = –0.66, p = 0.001).