Search

Simple Summary: Pediatric cancer survivors have a higher risk of developing cardiometabolic complications compared to their peers. This study evaluates the impact of VIE (Valorization, Implication, Education), which is a personalized intervention program that integrates nutrition, physical activity, and psychological support, on dietary intake and cardiometabolic health among children and adolescents following cancer treatment. The participants exposed to the VIE intervention showed specific improved dietary intakes at an average of 1.3 years post-treatment compared to a control group; this was reflected by lower caloric and higher calcium intakes. Furthermore, the participants who were highly involved in the nutritional intervention had greater protein-derived energy intake than the controls. Only the adolescents in the intervention group exhibited a trend toward a lower proportion of cardiometabolic risk factors. While our findings show limited clinical impact, they underscore the importance of exploring additional strategies to improve the diet of all pediatric cancer patients during and after treatment and show the need for further research to assess the long-term impact of such interventions on health. Background/Objectives: Pediatric cancer survivors are at greater risk of cardiometabolic complications than their peers. This study evaluates the preliminary impact of the VIE (Valorization, Implication, Education) intervention, which integrates nutrition, physical activity, and psychological support, on dietary intake and cardiometabolic health among children and adolescents during cancer treatment. Methods: This comparative study includes pediatric cancer patients recruited to either the VIE intervention group or a control group receiving standard care. Post-treatment data on dietary intake, anthropometric measures, blood pressure, and biochemical parameters were compared between groups and stratified by level of involvement in the nutritional intervention and age at diagnosis (children and adolescents). Results: In the intervention group, 45 participants were included (51.1% male, mean age at evaluation 10.2 ± 4.5 years, mean time since end of treatment of 1.3 ± 0.8 years), and the control group comprised 77 participants (44.2% male, mean age at evaluation 12.0 ± 5.6 years, mean time since end of treatment of 1.4 ± 0.8 years). The intervention group had lower total caloric intake (mean: 1759 ± 513 vs. 1997 ± 669 kcal, p = 0.042) and higher calcium intake (mean: 567 ± 240 vs. 432 ± 197 mg/1000 kcal, p = 0.001). The participants who were highly involved in the nutritional intervention had greater protein-derived energy intake than the controls (mean: 17 ± 5 vs. 15 ± 4%, p = 0.029). While there was a tendency for a lesser proportion of cardiometabolic risk factors in the adolescents from the intervention group, the differences did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: The VIE intervention improved some specific dietary intakes in the medium term after treatment completion but did not significantly impact cardiometabolic health outcomes. Additional strategies are needed to improve the diet of pediatric cancer patients, and further research is warranted to assess the long-term impact of such interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pediatric cancer survivors may experience cardiometabolic sequelae over the course of their lives as a result of the treatments they have received. While nutrition consists of an actionable target for cardiometabolic health, few nutritional interventions have been documented in this population. This study assessed the changes in diet during a one-year nutritional intervention for children and adolescents undergoing cancer treatments and the participants' anthropometric and cardiometabolic profiles. A total of 36 children and adolescents (mean age: 7.9 years, 52.8% male) newly diagnosed with cancer (50% leukemia) and their parents underwent a one-year individualized nutrition intervention. The mean number of follow-up visits with the dietitian during the intervention was 4.72 ± 1.06. Between the initial and one-year assessments, there was an improvement in diet quality reflected by the Diet Quality Index (5.22 ± 9.95, p = 0.003). Similarly, the proportion of participants with moderate and good adherence (vs. low adherence) to the Healthy Diet Index score almost tripled after one year of intervention (14% vs. 39%, p = 0.012). In parallel, there was an increase in the mean z-scores for weight (0.29 ± 0.70, p = 0.019) and BMI (0.50 ± 0.88, p = 0.002), and in the mean levels of HDL-C (0.27 ± 0.37 mmol/L, p = 0.002) and 25-hydroxy vitamin D (14.5 ± 28.1 mmol/L, p = 0.03). Overall, this study supports that a one-year nutritional intervention deployed early after a pediatric cancer diagnosis is associated with an improvement in the diets of children and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This cross-sectional study aimed at comparing the cardiometabolic (CM) health of children and adolescents and identifying factors associated with CM complications shortly after cancer treatment. Cancer-related characteristics, blood pressure (BP), anthropometry, and biochemical parameters were collected in 80 patients (56.3% female, mean age: 11.8 years; range: 4.5 − 21.0) a mean of 1.4 years following therapy completion. Compared to children, adolescents had higher mean z-score of insulin (–0.47 vs. 0.20; P = 0.01), HOMA-IR (–0.40 vs. 0.25; P = 0.02), waist-to-height ratio (0.36 vs. 0.84; P = 0.01), subscapular skinfold thickness (–0.19 vs. 0.47; P = 0.02), total body fat (–1.43 vs. 0.26; P < 0.01), and lower mean z-score of HDL-C (0.07 vs. –0.53; P < 0.01). Adolescents were more likely to have high BP (42% vs. 15%; P < 0.01), dyslipidemia (64% vs. 15%; P < 0.001), and cumulating ≥ 2 CM complications (42% vs. 2%; P < 0.001) than children. Adiposity indices (z-scores) were associated with high BP [odds ratio (OR) ranging from 2.11 to 4.09] and dyslipidemia (OR ranging from 2.06 to 4.34). These results suggest that adolescents have a worse CM profile than children shortly after therapy and that adiposity parameters are associated with CM complications, highliting the importance to develop intervention strategies targeting this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]