Influence of albumin and physical activity on postoperative recovery in patients with colorectal cancer: An observational study.

Purpose: The study explores the influences of nutrition-related factors (albumin, hemoglobin, and obesity) and lifestyles (physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake, smoking, and drinking) on the length of hospital stay in postoperative colorectal cancer patients.

Methods: This study is a cross-sectional design. A convenience sample of 106 preoperative colorectal cancer patients was recruited from a medical center in Taiwan. Data were collected using self-reported questionnaires and from patients' medical records.

Results: The median length of hospital stay was ten days with an interquartile range (IQR) of 8-11.25 days. The results of the log-link Gamma generalized linear model showed that albumin (B = -0.16, p = 0.007) and physical activity (B = -0.14, p = 0.001) were significant predictors of the length of hospital stay after controlling for demographics and disease characteristics. The influences of anemia, obesity, fruit and vegetable intake, smoking, and drinking on the length of hospital stay were insignificant.

Conclusions: Patients with hypoalbuminemia and a low level of physical activity undergo a more extended postoperative hospital stay. The study findings inform clinicians of the influencing factor of the patients' recovery and provide a foundation for developing interventions to decrease hospital stay length.