Investigation of the effect of taste change on quality of life in patients receiving chemotherapy treatment

Aim: The study was conducted to examine the effect of taste alteration on quality of life in patients receiving chemotherapy treatment. Material and method: The population of our descriptive study is oncology patients receiving inpatient and outpatient chemotherapy treatment at Inonu University Turgut Ozal Medical Center Training and Research Hospital; the sample consisted of 466 oncology patients who received the same treatment in the same hospital and met the inclusion criteria. Descriptive Characteristics Form, CiTAS, and EORTC QLQ-C30 Quality of Life Scale were used to collect data. Data were collected using SPSS 25 program for number, percentage, mean, standard deviation, median, Kolmogorov Smirnov, Shapiro Wilk, Post-Hoc Dunn and Benferroni tests, t-test, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis test, One-Way Variance, Spearman Correlation and Evaluated using Linear Regression Analyzes. Results: In our study, the total mean score of the EORTC QLQ-30 Quality of Life Scale was 62.97±13.31, and the total mean score of CiTAS was 40.43±17.84. Statistically significant relationships (p<0.001) were found between the EORTC QLQ-C30 Quality of Life Scale and the CiTAS scales and its sub-dimensions. As a result of the regression analysis, gender and smoking were positively related to the total score of the EORTC QLQ-C30 Quality of Life Scale; It was determined that income status, chronic disease, having problems other than taste changes, and the total score of the CiTAS had a negative statistically significant effect on the total score of the EORTC QLQ-C30 Quality of Life Scale. It was determined that the patients' use of another drug and the total score of the EORTC QLQ-C30 Quality of Life Scale had a negative statistically significant effect on the total score of the CiTAS. Conclusion: As a result of our research, it was found that the change in taste has a negative effect on the quality of life in patients receiving chemotherapy. Keywords: Cancer, Chemotherapy, Taste Disorders, Quality of Life