Dietary Intake Status among Korean Female Breast Cancer Survivors / 대한지역사회영양학회지

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate dietary intake among female breast cancer survivors in a cross-sectional study. METHODS: A total of 127 women who had breast cancer surgery at least 6 months before baseline were included. Dietary intake of female breast cancer survivors was assessed through self-reported 3 day-dietary records. To compare dietary intake between breast cancer survivors and general female population without cancer, we selected the 14 age matched women from the 2011 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). In the KNHANES, participants were asked about their dietary intake using the 24-hour dietary recalls. We also examined whether dietary intake varied by age group, cancer stage, or time since surgery among breast cancer survivors. We used the generalized linear model to compare their dietary intakes. RESULTS: Intakes of total energy, beta-carotene, folate, vitamin C, plant iron and fruits were lower among breast cancer survivors with longer time since surgery compared to those with shorter time (p < 0.05). Breast cancer patients with higher stage at diagnosis tended to consume less legumes (p = 0.01) than those with lower stage. When we compared dietary intake between breast cancer survivors and the general female population without cancer, breast cancer survivors were more likely to consume most of macro- and micro-nutrients in larger quantity (p < 0.05) and adhere to healthier diet characterized by higher intakes of legumes, seed and nuts, vegetables and fishes and shells than the general female population who never had been diagnosed with cancer (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our study results suggested that the intakes of nutrients and foods varied by time since surgery and cancer stage among breast cancer survivors and dietary intakes among breast cancer survivors differed from that in the general population. Further prospective studies are warranted to explore the association between dietary intakes of specific food items and survival among Korean breast cancer survivors.