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Healthcare
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Cachexia and Chronic Disease
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Cachexia and Chronic Disease

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Chronic Care".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 4169

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Joanne Reid

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK
Interests: cancer; palliative care; patient and lay carer experience; mixed methods research; renal; cachexia
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Carolyn Blair

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK
Interests: cachexia, psychosocial support; quality of life; palliative care; renal; mixed methods; Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE)

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Healthcare will focus on cachexia and chronic disease.

Cachexia is characterized by an ongoing loss of skeletal muscle mass (with or without loss of fat mass) and progressive functional impairment that cannot be fully reversed by conventional nutritional support alone. Cachexia has a devastating physical and psychological effect on patients and caregivers, resulting in altered body image, reduced quality of life, and decreased physical function. It is often associated with the end of life.

Cachexia is reported in almost all chronic diseases at the advanced stages including cardiac disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and chronic kidney disease (CKD).  The prevalence of cachexia varies depending on the diagnostic criteria used: 5–15% in cardiac disease, 5–15% in COPD, 15–32% in RA, 50–75% in CKD, and between 60% and 80% in cancer patients, and exceeds 80% in the last 1–2 weeks of life. It is a complex metabolic and multifactorial syndrome requiring early intervention and multimodal management. Currently, there is no standardized treatment for cachexia management.

This Special Issue will feature original and interesting clinical studies, reviews, short reports, narratives, and opinion pieces pertaining to this research topic. Potential topics include:

  • Issues related to cachexia management in chronic disease for patients, carers and/or healthcare staff.
  • Specific learning points for multidisciplinary healthcare practitioners working in cachexia management in chronic disease.
  • Multimodal cachexia management approaches for patients and/or families.
  • Integrated psychosocial care for patients living with cachexia and chronic disease and/or their families.

Prof. Dr. Joanne Reid
Dr. Carolyn Blair
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • cachexia
  • chronic disease
  • end-stage disease
  • palliative care
  • multi-morbidity
  • frailty
  • older age
  • multimodal interventions

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 511 KiB  
Article
Family Members’ Explanatory Models of Cancer Anorexia–Cachexia
by Susan McClement
Healthcare 2024, 12(16), 1610; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12161610 - 13 Aug 2024
Viewed by 998
Abstract
The experience of bearing witness to the lack of appetite and involuntary weight loss that characterizes cancer anorexia–cachexia syndrome (CACS) is reported to be stressful for family members. Research identifies that family members engage in a wide range of behaviors in response to [...] Read more.
The experience of bearing witness to the lack of appetite and involuntary weight loss that characterizes cancer anorexia–cachexia syndrome (CACS) is reported to be stressful for family members. Research identifies that family members engage in a wide range of behaviors in response to a relative who shows minimal interest in eating and is literally ‘wasting away’ before their eyes. Some families, though concerned about the symptoms of CACS, do not dwell excessively on the patient’s nutritional intake while others continually harass the patient to eat and petition health care providers for aggressive nutritional interventions to eat in an attempt to stave off further physical deterioration. While studies have detailed how family members respond to a terminally ill relative with CACS, empirical work explicating the explanatory models of CACS that they hold is lacking. Explanatory models (EMs) reflect the beliefs and ideas that families have about why illness and symptoms occur, the extent to which they can be controlled, how they should be treated, and how interventions should be evaluated. To address this gap in the literature, a grounded theory study guided by Kleinman’s Explanatory Model questions was conducted with 25 family members of advanced cancer patients. The core category of ‘Wayfaring’ integrates the key categories of the model and maps onto Kleinman’s questions about CACS onset, etiology, natural course, physiological processes/anatomical structures involved, treatment, and the impacts of disease on patient and family. Findings suggest that a divergence between some biomedical constructions of CACS and explanatory models held by family members may fuel the family–health care provider conflict, thereby providing direction for communication with families about care of the patient with anorexia–cachexia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cachexia and Chronic Disease)
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25 pages, 1173 KiB  
Article
Developing an Evidence and Theory Based Multimodal Integrative Intervention for the Management of Renal Cachexia: A Theory of Change
by Carolyn Blair, Adrian Slee, Andrew Davenport, Denis Fouque, William Johnston, Kamyar Kalantar-Zadeh, Peter Maxwell, Clare McKeaveney, Robert Mullan, Helen Noble, Sam Porter, David Seres, Joanne Shields, Ian Swaine, Miles Witham and Joanne Reid
Healthcare 2022, 10(12), 2344; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10122344 - 22 Nov 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2416
Abstract
In this study, we aimed to develop a theoretical framework for a multimodal, integrative, exercise, anti-inflammatory and dietary counselling (MMIEAD) intervention for patients with renal cachexia with reference to how this addresses the underlying causal pathways for renal cachexia, the outcomes anticipated, and [...] Read more.
In this study, we aimed to develop a theoretical framework for a multimodal, integrative, exercise, anti-inflammatory and dietary counselling (MMIEAD) intervention for patients with renal cachexia with reference to how this addresses the underlying causal pathways for renal cachexia, the outcomes anticipated, and how these will be evaluated. We used a Theory of Change (ToC) approach to guide six steps. Step 1 included inputs from a workshop to obtain key stakeholder views on the potential development of a multimodal intervention for renal cachexia. Step 2 included the findings of a mixed-methods study with Health Care Practitioners (HCPs) caring for individuals with End Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD) and cachexia. Step 3 included the results from our systematic literature review on multimodal interventions for cachexia management. In step 4, we used the body of our research team’s cachexia research and wider relevant research to gather evidence on the specific components of the multimodal intervention with reference to how this addresses the underlying causal pathways for renal cachexia. In steps 5 and 6 we developed and refined the ToC map in consultation with the core research team and key stakeholders which illustrates how the intervention components of MMIEAD interact to achieve the intended long-term outcomes and anticipated impact. The results of this study provide a theoretical framework for the forthcoming MMIEAD intervention for those with renal cachexia and in subsequent phases will be used to determine whether this intervention is effective. To the best of our knowledge no other multimodal intervention trials for cachexia management have reported a ToC. Therefore, this research may provide a useful framework and contribute to the ongoing development of interventions for cachexia management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cachexia and Chronic Disease)
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