Rong Y, Liu Y, Tang SY, Ju XJ, Li H. Caregiver-involved nutritional support and mindfulness training for patients with gastrointestinal cancer: Effects on malnutrition risk and mood. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2025; 17(4): 103515 [DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i4.103515]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Hui Li, Associate Chief Pharmacist, Division of Infection Management, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, No. 899 Pinghai Road, Gusu District, Suzhou 225000, Jiangsu Province, China. lihuiaba116828@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Retrospective Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Apr 15, 2025; 17(4): 103515 Published online Apr 15, 2025. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i4.103515
Caregiver-involved nutritional support and mindfulness training for patients with gastrointestinal cancer: Effects on malnutrition risk and mood
Yan Rong, Yan Liu, Shu-Yin Tang, Xian-Jing Ju, Hui Li
Yan Rong, Xian-Jing Ju, Department of General Practice, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214000, Jiangsu Province, China
Yan Liu, Department of Medical Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214000, Jiangsu Province, China
Shu-Yin Tang, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214000, Jiangsu Province, China
Hui Li, Division of Infection Management, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 225000, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Rong Y designed the study; Rong Y, Liu Y, Tang SY, Ju XJ, and Li H contributed to the analysis of the manuscript; Rong Y and Liu Y were involved in data collection and writing of this article. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, NO. LS20212Q1.
Informed consent statement: All study participants and their legal guardians provided written informed consent before enrolment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hui Li, Associate Chief Pharmacist, Division of Infection Management, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, No. 899 Pinghai Road, Gusu District, Suzhou 225000, Jiangsu Province, China. lihuiaba116828@163.com
Received: November 21, 2024 Revised: December 16, 2024 Accepted: January 20, 2025 Published online: April 15, 2025 Processing time: 124 Days and 6.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
The participation of caregivers, who play a crucial role in the recovery of patients with gastrointestinal tumors, in family nutrition support decisions can help tailor nutrition plans to meet the specific needs and lifestyle habits of the patient, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of nutritional intake.
AIM
To assess the impact of caregiver-shared decision-making in family nutritional support with mindfulness-based behavioral therapy on the risk of malnutrition and mood states in patients with gastrointestinal tumors.
METHODS
Patients with gastrointestinal tumors (n = 118) treated at the Jiangnan University Affiliated Hospital between December 2021 and March 2024 were assigned to the observation (n = 59) and control (n = 59) groups using the random number table method. In addition to the standard treatment and basic nursing measures implemented in the control group, the integrated approach was implemented in the observation group. The nutritional and mood state indicators, compliance, and satisfaction before and 6 months after implementing the intervention were compared between the groups.
RESULTS
The body mass index, serum albumin levels, and transferrin levels, as well as the scores for all seven dimensions of the Profile of Mood States questionnaire, in the observation were higher than those in the control group after the 6-month follow-up period (P < 0.05). However, the Nutrition Risk Screening 2002 and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale scores were lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The compliance and satisfaction rates were 94.92% and 98.31%, respectively, which were higher than those of the control group (79.66% and 88.14%, respectively; P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION
The implementation of the integrated approach significantly reduced the risk of malnutrition and improved mood states in patients with gastrointestinal tumors. Moreover, the compliance and satisfaction rates were higher.
Core Tip: Family nutritional support integrated with mindfulness-based behavioral therapy facilitated by shared decision-making among caregivers can significantly reduce the risk of malnutrition in patients with gastrointestinal tumors. In addition, this approach can improve mood, treatment compliance, and satisfaction with care by providing home-based nutritional support and mindfulness training.
