title: Characteristics of taste and smell alterations reported by patients after starting treatment for lung cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Taste and smell alterations (TSAs) in patients with lung cancer are poorly understood. This study investigates characteristics of TSAs when most severe, reported by patients after starting treatment for lung cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data was collected regarding TSAs, symptoms, food intake and nutritional status through structured interviews using the Taste and Smell Survey, the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment and 3-day food diaries. This data derives from a longitudinal project and the interview with each patient when TSAs were most severe was purposefully selected for analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty-one of the 89 patients reported TSAs, and the TSAs group were on average younger and more frequently smokers. Thirty-one patients reported symptoms impacting negatively on food intake, with 87 % in the TSAs group and 13 % in the no-TSAs group. Most commonly reported were loss of appetite, nausea and early satiety. Gender differences were seen with more women reporting stronger sensation(s) and more men reporting weaker sensation(s) and other changes. TSAs were described as affecting enjoyment of food and eating. A trend was seen where energy intakes declined with increasing TSAs. Energy intakes in the total study population were below recommended.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TSAs varied in characteristics and interacted with other symptoms. Gender differences may highlight a need to investigate approaches for identification and management of TSAs in men and women. Patients reported TSAs impacting on food enjoyment, and the hypothesis that patients with higher TSS scores have lower nutritional intakes should be followed up with a larger study in the lung cancer population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, jenny.mcgreevy@virginmedia.com.
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McGreevy
authors.forename: Ylva
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Orrevall
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Belqaid
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wismer
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tishelman
authors.forename: Britt-Marie
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Bernhardson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000857:Olfaction Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013651:Taste Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*
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