Sai Suprathika Ponnaboina
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Kochi.
Abstract Title:
Assessment of Weight and Body Fat with Quality of Diet among Acute Leukaemia Patients at a Tertiary Care Institution in KeralaBiography:
Ms. Ponnaboina Sai Suprathika is a Clinical Dietitian with M.Sc. in Clinical Nutrition and Food Sciences from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Kochi. She currently serves as the Head of Department and Senior Dietitian at Nutriewind Healthcare, Consultant Dietitian, Clinical and Academic Educator at Nutrilaunce Academy, and Founder of S Infinite, an online nutrition consultation platform. She has over 2,250 hours of clinical training across 15 medical specialties and specializes in medical nutrition therapy, oncology nutrition, critical care nutrition, and personalized diet counselling. Her research focuses on body composition, nutritional assessment, and dietary quality among acute leukaemia patients, and she actively contributes to nutrition education, scientific research, and evidence-based clinical practice.
Research Interests:
Background: Malnutrition is a common complication among patients with acute leukaemia (AL) and adversely affects treatment response, prognosis, and quality of life. Chemotherapy-induced metabolic alterations can significantly influence body composition and dietary intake. However, limited evidence exists regarding changes in body composition and diet quality during induction chemotherapy. This study evaluated these changes among patients with acute leukaemia undergoing induction chemotherapy.
Aim: To assess changes in body composition and dietary quality among patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) before and after induction chemotherapy.
Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted among 42 acute leukaemia patients aged 14–40 years, including 27 ALL and 15 AML patients undergoing first induction chemotherapy at a tertiary care institution in Kerala. Nutritional assessment included 24-hour dietary recall, Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), Diet Diversity Score (DDS), Food Variety Score (FVS), anthropometric measurements, body composition analysis, and Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) before and after chemotherapy. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, paired t-test, and correlation analysis.
Results:Dietary quality improved following nutritional counselling, with a significant increase in Food Variety Score (FVS) (p = 0.001) and improved micronutrient intake. However, nutritional status deteriorated significantly, as reflected by an increase in PG-SGA scores from 1.95 ± 0.582 before chemotherapy to 2.26 ± 0.54 after chemotherapy (p = 0.001). Skeletal muscle mass also showed a significant decline following induction chemotherapy, indicating adverse effects of treatment on body composition despite improvements in dietary quality.
Conclusion:Induction chemotherapy has a significant negative impact on body composition and nutritional status among acute leukaemia patients. Although individualized nutritional counselling improved dietary quality, it was insufficient to prevent loss of skeletal muscle mass during treatment. Routine nutritional assessment, continuous monitoring, and early nutrition intervention should be integrated into oncology care to optimize treatment outcomes and improve long-term health.