Prevalence of Nutritional Risk and Obesity in Mexican Cancer Outpatients

Background: Malnutrition is a prevalent issue among cancer patients, negatively impacting clinical outcomes and survival, emphasizing the need for effective nutritional screening in this population. Methods: This study aimed to assess the performance of various nutritional screening tools and their association with malnutrition, obesity, overweight, and hand grip strength (HGS) in Mexican cancer outpatients. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 396 adult outpatients at a public hospital in Mexico. Nutritional risk was evaluated using NRS-2002, MUST, MST, NUTRISCORE, and PG-SGA, while malnutrition was determined through GLIM criteria and PG-SGA. Anthropometric and demographic data were collected, and analyses included sensitivity, specificity, and kappa coefficients for screening tool performance. Results: Nutritional risk was identified in 22.7–26.5% of patients, with the highest agreement between MUST and PG-SGA (k=0.64). Malnutrition prevalence was higher using GLIM criteria (37.4%) compared to PG-SGA (25.8%, p<0.001). Additionally, a high prevalence of overweight (37.1%) and obesity (23.5%) was observed in this patient population. Low BMI and reduced HGS were significantly associated with nutritional risk and malnutrition (p<0.001). Conclusions: The findings indicate that MUST and PG-SGA are reliable tools for nutritional screening in cancer outpatients, while GLIM criteria reveal a higher prevalence of malnutrition. The elevated rates of obesity and overweight highlight the unique nutritional challenges in cancer patients.