Relationship between Fatigue and Nutritional Status in Patients with Gastric Cancer

위암환자의 피로와 영양상태와의 관계

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between fatigue and nutritional status in gastric cancer Design. A correlational and crossectional study design was used. Method: Fatigue was measured using the Revised Piper Fatigue Scale. The parameters for nutritional status consisted of BMI, Hb, Hct, total protein, albumin and lymphocyte count. Result: The mean score of fatigue was $94.31{\pm}22.08(mean\;average\;4.48{\pm}1.00)$. The subdimensional scores of fatigue revealed $34.15{\pm}8.76$ for behavior/severity, $22.00{\pm}7.93$ for cognitive/mood, $21.67{\pm}5.56$ for sensory, and $20.81{\pm}6.69$ for affective. And the level of BMI, Hb, & Hct were under the normal ranges. In the ancillary analysis, there was a significant difference on the fatigue scores by the groups of present diet(F=3.343, P=.026). Age, types of treatments, period after diagnosis and weight change were related to nutritional status. There was a significant negative correlation between fatigue and nutritional status(r=-.371, P=.004). Conclusion: Considering the relationship between fatigue and nutritional status, nurses can identify the risk group most vulnerable to fatigue and malnourishment in order to provide appropriate interventions for them.