Abstract

The objective of this thesis is to assess the prevalence of low quality of life in adult cancer survivors and predictors for these low scores, separately for physical and mental quality of life. Possible predictors can include sociodemographic, clinical, and behavioral factors. The data source for this thesis is the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2012. The sample population included 1244 cancer survivors 20 years or older that answered “yes” to the question “have you ever been told by a doctor or other health professional that had cancer or malignancy of any kind?” Mental and physical health scores were determined based on the number of days physical and mental health was not good and dichotomized according to mean value. The four groups identified were low mental health and low physical health (n=148, 11.9%), low mental health and high physical health (n=239, 19.2%), high mental health and low physical health (n=143, 11.5%), and high mental health and high physical health (n=714, 57.4%). The diet quality was calculated using the Healthy Eating Index 2015, which measures adherence to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020. The SAS Survey Analysis Procedures was used to account for the random multi-stage sampling of NHANES. Also, ANOVA and chi-square tests were used to determine the possible predictors of low quality of life while multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the independent predictors of low physical and mental health. Statistical significance was set at a two-sided p-value of

Thesis Completion

2021

Semester

Fall

Thesis Chair/Advisor

Lee, Eunkyung

Degree

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Biology

Degree Program

Biology

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

1 year

Release Date

6-1-2023

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Included in

Oncology Commons

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