Language
English
Publication Date
10-1-2025
Journal
Head & Neck
DOI
10.1002/hed.28206
PMID
40452385
PMCID
PMC12354315
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
6-2-2025
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-print
Abstract
Background: Diet quality is a modifiable factor impacting treatment outcomes in oropharyngeal cancer (OPC), yet the effect of dysphagia and self-reported eating-related symptoms remains unclear. This study examined their associations with diet quality in OPC patients.
Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted with two parallel cohorts from MD Anderson Cancer Center and Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center as part of the Uncovering the Long-Term Impact of OPC and Dysphagia on Dietary Quality and Nutrition Among Cancer Survivors (U-DINE) Study. Participants at varying survivorship stages (prediagnosis, 3-6 and 18+ months posttreatment) were assessed for dysphagia (DIGEST scale) and six individual eating-related symptoms (MDASI-HN). Diet quality was measured using HEI-2020 scores from two 24-h dietary recalls.
Results: Among 178 survivors, mean HEI-2020 was 49.5 ± 11.3. In multivariable models, moderate-severe dysphagia (18.5% of the sample) was associated with higher diet quality (β = 7.11, p = 0.004), while eating-related symptoms showed no significant association.
Conclusions: Unexpectedly, poor swallowing function correlated with better diet quality. However, overall diet quality was suboptimal, highlighting the need for interventions for all OPC survivors, regardless of swallowing function, to address diet quality as an independent risk factor throughout survivorship.
Keywords
Humans, Deglutition Disorders, Male, Female, Oropharyngeal Neoplasms, Middle Aged, Cross-Sectional Studies, Cancer Survivors, Aged, Diet, Background: Diet quality is a modifiable factor impacting treatment outcomes in oropharyngeal cancer (OPC), yet the effect of dysphagia and self-reported eating-related symptoms remains unclear. This study examined their associations with diet quality in OPC patients. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted with two parallel cohorts from MD Anderson Cancer Center and Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center as part of the Uncovering the Long-Term Impact of OPC and Dysphagia on Dietary Quality and Nutrition Among Cancer Survivors (U-DINE) Study. Participants at varying survivorship stages (prediagnosis, 3-6 and 18+ months posttreatment) were assessed for dysphagia (DIGEST scale) and six individual eating-related symptoms (MDASI-HN). Diet quality was measured using HEI-2020 scores from two 24-h dietary recalls. Results: Among 178 survivors, mean HEI-2020 was 49.5 ± 11.3. In multivariable models, moderate-severe dysphagia (18.5% of the sample) was associated with higher diet quality (β = 7.11, p = 0.004), while eating-related symptoms showed no significant association. Conclusions: Unexpectedly, poor swallowing function correlated with better diet quality. However, overall diet quality was suboptimal, highlighting the need for interventions for all OPC survivors, regardless of swallowing function, to address diet quality as an independent risk factor throughout survivorship.
Published Open-Access
yes
Recommended Citation
Manduchi, Beatrice; Sandulache, Vlad C; Tark, Ji Yun; et al., "Examining the Relationship Between Dysphagia, Eating-Related Symptoms, and Diet Quality Among Oropharyngeal Cancer Patients During Critical Stages of Cancer Survivorship: The U-DINE Study" (2025). Faculty and Staff Publications. 4943.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/baylor_docs/4943
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