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- Title
Clinical implications of learned food aversions in patients with cancer treated with chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
- Authors
Mattes, Richard D.; Curran, Walter J.; Alavi, Jane; Powlis, William; Whittington, Richard; Mattes, R D; Curran, W J Jr; Alavi, J; Powlis, W; Whittington, R
- Abstract
<bold>Background: </bold>The nutritional implications of learned food aversions were evaluated in patients with newly diagnosed cancer receiving either chemotherapy (n = 53) or radiation therapy (n = 49).<bold>Methods: </bold>Aversion incidence was determined by questionnaires and a food challenge. Measures of dietary and nutritional status included ratings of appetite and chemosensory function; reported shifts of food selection and measured body weight; lymphocyte count; hematocrit; and plasma albumin, transferrin, and hemoglobin levels. Quality of life was assessed by self-ratings of mood and well-being.<bold>Results: </bold>Subsequent to the initiation of treatments, aversions formed in 56% and 62% of patients receiving chemotherapy and radiation therapy, respectively. The aversions were specific (two to four items per afflicted patient) and transient (mean duration, 0.25-2 months). All types of foods and beverages were targeted. No significant association was observed between food aversion incidence and any measure of dietary complications, nutritional status, or quality of life.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>Although food aversions are a common sequela of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, they generally have limited clinical significance.
- Publication
Cancer (0008543X), 1992, Vol 70, Issue 1, p192
- ISSN
0008-543X
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1002/1097-0142(19920701)70:1<192::AID-CNCR2820700130>3.0.CO;2-G