TABLE 2 .
Impact of treatment on patients’ diets by gender, age, and cancer type
| Gender |
Age |
Cancer typea |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Males (n = 450) | Females (n = 717) | P value | 18–74 years (n = 1,043) | 75 and older (n = 151) | P value | Breast (n = 207) | GI (n = 155) | Lung (n = 130) | Other solids (n = 290) | Hematologic (n = 238) | |
| Changes in appetite since beginning treatment | ||||||||||||
| Increased appetite | 15.2% (178) | 13.5% (60) | 16.8% (117) | <0.01 | 15.2% (158) | 12.6% (19) | 0.26 | 18.8% (39) | 11.0% (17) | 14.6% (19) | 14.5% (42) | 15.1% (36) |
| Same | 45.4% (531) | 51.2% (228) | 40.8% (285) | 43.5% (454) | 50.3% (76) | 42.5% (88) | 38.7% (60) | 36.9% (48) | 42.1% (122) | 54.5% (130) | ||
| Decreased appetite | 39.4% (461) | 35.3% (157) | 42.4% (296) | 39.0% (404) | 34.4% (52) | 36.2% (75) | 47.1% (73) | 44.6% (58) | 41.4% (120) | 29.4% (70) | ||
| Changes in frequency of eating since beginning treatment | ||||||||||||
| More often | 21.6% (251) | 19.8% (88) | 22.8% (158) | 0.01 | 21.7% (226) | 15.2% (23) | <0.01 | 21.3% (44) | 25.8% (40) | 20.8% (27) | 19.0% (55) | 21.0% (50) |
| About the same | 48.5% (565) | 53.8% (239) | 44.4% (308) | 45.2% (471) | 60.9% (92) | 45.4% (94) | 40.0% (62) | 41.5% (54) | 43.5% (126) | 57.1% (136) | ||
| Less often | 30.4% (349) | 26.4% (117) | 32.9% (228) | 30.4% (317) | 21.2% (32) | 30.4% (63) | 31.6% (49) | 33.1% (43) | 34.8% (101) | 20.6% (49) | ||
| Changes in thirst since beginning treatment | ||||||||||||
| Increased | 30.6% (355) | 28.1% (127) | 32.3% (224) | 0.29 | 30.9% (322) | 21.9% (33) | 0.01 | 37.2% (77) | 20.7% (32) | 21.5% (28) | 27.9% (81) | 34.9% (83) |
| Stayed the same | 53.8% (625) | 56.0% (247) | 51.7% (359) | 50.3% (525) | 63.6% (96) | 48.8% (101) | 55.5% (86) | 56.9% (74) | 49.0% (142) | 55.5% (132) | ||
| Decreased | 15.7% (182) | 15.9% (70) | 16.0% (111) | 15.9% (166) | 10.6% (16) | 11.6% (24) | 20.7% (32) | 15.4% (20) | 21.0% (61) | 7.1% (17) | ||
| Changes in frequency of drinking since beginning treatment | ||||||||||||
| More often | 48.9% (570) | 47.8% (212) | 50.6% (351) | 0.65 | 48.3% (504) | 42.4% (64) | 0.01 | 56.0% (116) | 38.7% (60) | 43.9% (57) | 41.7% (121) | 57.6% (137) |
| About the same | 40.3% (469) | 41.0% (182) | 38.6% (268) | 37.7% (393) | 49.0% (74) | 34.3% (71) | 43.2% (67) | 41.5% (54) | 42.1% (122) | 35.3% (84) | ||
| Less often | 10.8% (126) | 11.3% (50) | 10.8% (75) | 11.3% (118) | 5.3% (8) | 7.3% (15) | 15.5% (24) | 10.8% (14) | 13.5% (39) | 5.5% (13) | ||
GI = gastrointestinal.
aParticipants who reported more than one type of cancer or who reported having an “other malignancy” that did not fall into the five categories were excluded from analyses by cancer type.