Nutritional status and its influencing factors among elderly patients with malignant tumours: a retrospective study from a tertiary hospital in Chengdu, China.

Abstract

To investigate the nutritional status and its influencing factors in elderly patients aged 60 years and above with malignant tumours. A retrospective observational study. The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, a tertiary care hospital in Chengdu, China. A total of 450 elderly patients with cancer (aged ≥60 years) admitted between January 1, 2022, and January 1, 2023. Patients were selected based on their clinical records, excluding those with communication disorders, mental illness or incomplete data. Nutritional status was assessed using the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA). Participants were categorised based on the presence or absence of malnutrition. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify independent risk factors for malnutrition. Of the 450 patients included, 63.7% were male and 36.3% female, with a median age of 69 years. The prevalence of severe malnutrition was 46.4%. Univariate analysis showed significant associations between malnutrition and factors such as older age (p<0.001), alcohol consumption (p=0.003), high pain score (p<0.001), diabetes (p<0.001), low body mass index (BMI) (p<0.001), low haemoglobin (p<0.001), elevated C-reactive protein (p<0.001), low albumin (p<0.001), and reduced self-care ability (p<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression identified advanced age (OR=1.08, 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.13), low BMI (OR=0.82, 95% CI (CI): 0.74 to 0.90), low serum albumin (OR=0.90, 95% CI: 0.85 to 0.96) and low activities of daily living score (OR=0.97, 95% CI: 0.96 to 0.98) as independent risk factors for malnutrition. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis confirmed the predictive value of these factors. Malnutrition is highly prevalent in elderly patients with cancer and is significantly associated with age, BMI, albumin levels and self-care ability. Early identification and targeted nutritional interventions may improve outcomes and quality of life in this population.