Physical Functions, Health-Related Outcomes, Nutritional Status, and Blood Markers in Community-Dwelling Cancer Survivors Aged 75 Years and Older

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> A cancer survivor is defined as anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer, from the time ofdiagnosis through the rest of their life. The purpose of this study was to examine whether physical functions,health-related outcomes, nutritional status and blood markers in community-dwelling cancer survivors aged75 years and older are different from those who do not have cancer Materials and <br/><b>Methods</b>: Two hundredseventy-five participants were asked by physicians, nurses, and physical therapists, questions regarding cancerhistory in a face-to-face interview. Data were collected for demographic information, physical functions, suchas handgrip strength, knee extension power, abdominal muscle strength, static standing balance, walking speedand the timed-up-and-go test, health-related outcomes, nutritional status, and blood markers. The measuredparameters of survivor diagnosed with cancer were compared with those without a history of cancer. <br/><b>Results</b>:Thirty-seven older adults were previously diagnosed with cancer. Female cancer survivors had lower kneeextension power (p<0.05), abdominal muscle strength (p<0.05), walking speed (p<0.05), timed-up-and-go testscore (p<0.05), and time to spend on walking per day (p<0.05) than older women without a history of cancer.In men, none of the measured parameters were significantly different between cancer survivors and older menwith no history of cancer. <br/><b>Conclusions</b>: The present study shows that partial physical function of women cancersurvivors aged 75 years and older differs from that in women with no history of cancer.