Objective  To evaluate nutritional risk using Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS2002) and to analyze correlations between nutritional risk and malnutrition, quality of life, age, gender, and disease duration among gastric cancer inpatients.

  Methods  We recruited 112 gastric cancer inpatients in Hunan Province Tumor Hospital during the period from June 1st to August 31st, 2017. Then we conducted a nutritional risk assessment using NRS2002, an evaluation on quality of life with Quality of Life Questionnaire of Stomach 22 (QLQ-STO22), and measurements of physiological indicators including height and weight and blood total protein and hemoglobin among the inpatients.

  Results  Of the inpatients, 70.5% were identified with nutritional risk. Among the inpatients, the influencing factors of the nutritional risk included age (χ² = 4.824, P = 0.028), disease duration (χ² = 5.320, P = 0.021), low body weight (51.49 ± 8.54 kg), low body mass index (BMI) (19.48 ±2.67 kg/m²), low total protein (60.91 ± 8.74 g/L), low serum albumin (38.90±4.87 g/L), and low hemoglobin (103.99±16.45 g/L) (all P < 0.05). The nutritional risk was correlated with the quality of life and the presence of nutritional risk could significantly affect the scores of swallowing, reflux, eating restriction, and taste change among the inpatients (P < 0.05 for all).

  Conclusion  The nutritional risk is correlated positively with the incidence of malnutrition and the decline in quality of life among gastric cancer inpatients. Concerns should be paid on early nutritional risk screening for the implementation of reasonable intervention in order to improve the nutrition status and quality of live among gastric cancer patients.