Health status, lifestyle habits, and perceived social support in long-term cancer survivors: a cross-sectional study

Association between GHQ-12, Duke-UNC-11, Physical Activity, and Self-Perceived Health in Spanish Adults with Cancerous Tumours: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: In Spain, people who have overcome some type of cancer have significantly worse self-perceived health (SPH) and higher rates of depression than people who have never suffered any type of cancer. Objective: to explore the relationships among physical activity levels (PAL), perceived social support (PSS), and SPH in terms of mental health and its dimensions in Spanish adults with cancerous tumours. Methods: A correlational study rooted in the National Health Survey 2017 for adults was carried out, including 627 Spanish residents who reported having malignant tumours. Results: A dependent association was found between PAL and SPH (p < 0.001). The mental health mean score decreased as PAL increased for the total sample and for both sexes, separately (p < 0.001). Low reverse associations were also observed between PAL and mental health (rho: −0.274; p < 0.001), successful coping (rho: −0.239; p < 0.001) and self-confidence (rho: −0.264; p <0.001). Moreover, PSS weakly and inversely correlates with mental health (r: −0.225; p < 0.001), successful coping (r: −0.218; p < 0.001) and self-confidence (r: −0.231; p < 0.001). A binary logistic model showed that active and very active people presented less threat of poor SPH, as did people with higher PSS (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Greater levels of physical activity are associated with larger mean scores in the three dimensions of mental health, perceived social support and self-perceived health in people with cancerous tumours.

Diet Quality and the Number of Comorbidities Are Associated with General Health Among Older Female Cancer Survivors

Objective: We aimed to investigate the associations between diet quality, general health, and comorbidities among older female cancer survivors. Methods: Participants (n = 171) completed one-time surveys to assess health-related quality of life (RAND-36), diet quality (Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2015)), and number of comorbidities. Additional demographic and clinical variables were collected. Descriptive statistics, analysis of covariance, correlations, and linear regressions were utilized. Results: A positive correlation was found between HEI-2015 and general health subscale scores (r = .26, p = .002). A negative correlation was found between the number of comorbidities and general health (r = -.21, p = .02). Being white (β = -.24, p = .02) and having fewer comorbidities (β = -.22, p = .04) were significantly associated with higher general health. Being unmarried (β = .24, p = .02) and having higher education (β = .32, p = .002) were significantly associated with higher HEI-2015 scores. Discussion: Healthcare providers should seek guidance from registered dietitian nutritionists for nutritional education to promote optimal nutritional status, thus contributing to improved general health among this growing population.

Lack of Social Support and Its Role on Self-Perceived Health in a Representative Sample of Spanish Adults. Another Aspect of Gender Inequality

Self-perceived health has been used as a good estimator of health status and receiving affection can be a determining factor for good self-perceived health. The aim of the present study was to assess whether lack of social support (measured through Duke scale, which ranges from 11 to 55) was associated with poorer health status measured as self-perceived health, and whether that association was different between women and men. A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the 2017 Spanish National Health Survey. A descriptive study was performed, and logistic regression models were applied using self-perceived health as a dependent variable. Mean Duke score was 47.6 for men and 47.9 for women (p = 0.016). Moreover, 36.3% of women and 27.6% of men reported poor self-perceived health (p < 0.001). The multivariate analysis revealed that lower scores in Duke-UNC social support scale were associated with poorer health status. That association was higher in women than in men. Poor self-perceived health was also associated with low level of education and obesity, especially among women. There was gender inequality as regards health status associated with lack of social support. These results can help design prevention strategies to improve health.