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The association between anti-inflammatory foods and nutrients and chronic fatigue and related symptoms in blood and marrow transplant survivors

Smith, Zachary
http://orcid.org/0009-0007-1109-956X
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1692298962230366

Abstract Details

2023, MS, University of Cincinnati, Allied Health Sciences: Nutrition.
Background/Purpose: Cancer survivors who undergo a blood and marrow transplant often report low quality of life along with a variety of symptoms, with fatigue being the symptom of most interest for this study. Evidence regarding inflammation and its relationship to fatigue has been accumulating in recent years. The ability of the diet to impact inflammation and therefore possibly fatigue is the main interest of this study. Antioxidants of interest in this study were mainly zinc, selenium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E. This research aimed to investigate whether there was an association between a low versus high dietary antioxidant capacity and chronic fatigue and related symptoms in BMT survivors one year after transplant. Methods: This study was a secondary data analysis of a convergent design mixed methods study involving BMT survivors from the University of Cincinnati Medial Center (UCMC) and the Jewish Hospital-Mercy Health Blood and Marrow Transplantation programs entitled Factors Contributing to Symptoms of Survivors of Adults Blood and Marrow Transplant (SOS-A BMT) (PI Dr. Caroline F. Morrison, PhD, RN). Diet was assessed with the Diet History Questionnaire III, and antioxidant potential of the diet was assessed using Dietary Antioxidant Index (DAI) scores and Dietary Antioxidant Quality (DAQ). Diet quality was assessed by calculating Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) scores and Healthy Eating Index (HEI) scores. These measures were compared to clinical indicators/symptoms using items from the Promis-29, FACT-BMT, and Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS) questionnaires. Participants data was split into two groups (High) and (Low), at the median score for each measure. Population averages for each clinical indicator in both groups were obtained and analyzed for significance. Results: Participant’s DAI scores had a mean of -1.43, indicating that on average, participants’ diets did not have significant anti-inflammatory potential. The DAQ score also indicated low to moderate dietary antioxidant capacity in the study sample. Measures of overall dietary quality showed that participant’s diet quality was moderate for the HEI (60% of maximum score) and the DASH score (44% of maximum score). Based on the ranges for fatigue and related symptoms across measures, this population on average did not report significant levels of fatigue or related symptoms. Overall, there were not significant differences in fatigue and related symptoms scores in participants with low versus high HEI and DASH scores. Overall, there were not significant differences in fatigue and related symptoms scores in participants with low versus high DAQ score and DAI score. Conclusion: The role of antioxidants in modulating inflammation is known, however, the effect on fatigue is still unclear. No significant associations between fatigue and related symptoms and inflammatory potential of participants’ diets were found. Diet impacts numerous aspects of overall health and can be a great tool if utilized properly. Further investigation of inflammation and its potential association with fatigue is needed, as well as more research into finding ways to improve quality of life for cancer survivors.
Caroline Morrison, Ph.D. R.N. C.N.L. (Committee Member)
Sarah Couch, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
25 p.
Nutrition
Antioxidants; Inflammation; BMT; Diet; Fatigue; cancer

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Smith, Z. (2023). The association between anti-inflammatory foods and nutrients and chronic fatigue and related symptoms in blood and marrow transplant survivors [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1692298962230366

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Smith, Zachary. The association between anti-inflammatory foods and nutrients and chronic fatigue and related symptoms in blood and marrow transplant survivors. 2023. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1692298962230366.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Smith, Zachary. "The association between anti-inflammatory foods and nutrients and chronic fatigue and related symptoms in blood and marrow transplant survivors." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2023. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1692298962230366

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1692298962230366
46
© 2023, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License The association between anti-inflammatory foods and nutrients and chronic fatigue and related symptoms in blood and marrow transplant survivors by Zachary Smith is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.