Impact of nutritional care on hospital stay and costs in cancer patients: analysis of a national database in Peru

Apaza Durand A.J.; Ruiton Ricra J.G.; Alvarez Rios C.; Dora Moscoso J.M.; Daga R. · Nutricion Clinica y Dietetica Hospitalaria (2026) · DOI: 10.12873/ncdh-2026-85

Resumen

Background: Cancer presents a significant challenge to healthcare systems due to its clinical and economic impact. Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the association between hospital nutritional care, length of hospital stay, and hospital costs in cancer patients enrolled in the Comprehensive Health Insurance (SIS) in Peru during 2023–2024. Materials and methods: Data were obtained from the SIS public database. 7010 records of hospitalized adult patients with a cancer diagnosis were analyzed. Descriptive analyses and inferential tests were applied using Kruskal-Wallis and negative binomial regression, considering statistical significance at p < 0.05. Results: 60.9% of the patients were female, and the most frequent age group was 60–69 years (20.2%). The majority had hospital stays of ≤7 days (57.8%). Regarding nutritional care, 59.7% received one intervention and 24.0% received two interventions during hospitalization. Significant differences were observed between the number of nutritional interventions and length of hospital stay (H = 22,438; p = 0.001) and hospital cost (H = 180,119; p < 0.001). Each additional nutritional intervention was associated with a 7% increase in hospital cost (IRR = 1.07; 95% CI: 1.06–1.09; p < 0.001) and a 2% reduction in length of hospital stay (IRR = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.96–0.99; p = 0.003). Conclusion: Hospital nutritional care is significantly associated with length of hospital stay and costs in cancer patients in the Peruvian public healthcare system.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos; Universidad Andina del Cusco; Universidad Privada Norbert Wiener