Malays. Appl. Biol. (2018) 47(4): 1–11
CONSUMPTION OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENT AND
HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG
CANCER SURVIVORS IN KUALA LUMPUR
LEE SOOK YIN and NOOR SALIHAH ZAKARIA*
1School of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT),
21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia
*E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Accepted 14 August 2018, Published online 25 October 2018
ABSTRACT
The use of dietary supplements has become increasingly more popular in the recent years especially among cancer survivors. This research aimed to assess the supplement consumption among cancer survivors and to compare the BMI and health related quality of life (HRQoL) between dietary supplement users and non-users. A cross-sectional study was conducted at The National Cancer Society Malaysia (NCSM) and Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur using convenience sampling. Cancer survivors above 18 years old and diagnosed with any type of cancers were invited to participate. The following aspects were evaluated: dietary supplement consumption and HRQoL (EORTC QLQ-C30). A total of 84 cancer survivors were gathered (median age: 55 years old; median cancer duration: 30 months). Two-thirds of the respondents reported using dietary supplement over the past one year (65.5%). Calcium, vitamin C and multivitamin were the commonly used dietary supplement. ‘Doctor’s suggestion’ was the most common reason of supplement consumption. Supplement intake was significantly higher among cancer survivors with lower BMI (p = 0.007). Supplement users had experienced more insomnia (p = 0.048) compared to non-users. There was a significant proportion of dietary supplement users among cancer survivors. Except for BMI and insomnia, all other variables were not associated with supplement consumption.
Key words: Dietary supplements, HRQoL, cancer survivors
