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Health‐related quality of life in patients with lymphoedema – a cross‐sectional study
Author(s) -
Klernäs Pia,
Johnsson Aina,
Horstmann Vibeke,
Johansson Karin
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of caring sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1471-6712
pISSN - 0283-9318
DOI - 10.1111/scs.12488
Subject(s) - medicine , psychosocial , quality of life (healthcare) , physical therapy , cross sectional study , lymphedema , population , cancer , breast cancer , nursing , environmental health , pathology , psychiatry
Lymphoedema may cause complex problems that can strongly influence patients' health‐related quality of life ( HRQ oL). The main purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of lymphoedema on HRQ oL in patients with varying forms of lymphoedema. Methods The Lymphoedema Quality of Life Inventory (Ly QLI ), measuring three domains, physical, psychosocial and practical, and the Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire ( SF ‐36), measuring eight health domains, were sent to 200 lymphoedema patients. Out of those who answered both questionnaires, 88 patients had lymphoedema secondary to cancer treatment and they additionally received the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Scale‐General ( FACT ‐G). The relation between continuous variables and the three domains were analysed by Spearman's correlation coefficients, and Kruskal–Wallis test was used to analyse categorical variables. Results Altogether 129 patients completed the Ly QLI and SF ‐36 and 79 of them also completed FACT ‐G. Twenty per cent had a high mean score (≥2.0) in at least one domain of the Ly QLI , thus having a low HRQ oL. Lower HRQ oL was found in the practical domain of Ly QLI in patients with lower limb lymphoedema compared to patient with lymphoedema in upper limb or head/neck (p = 0.002) and in patients working part‐time compared to patients working full‐time (p = 0.005). The impact on HRQ oL tended to decrease with age, with a significant correlation in the psychosocial domain ( r s = 0.194, p = 0.028). Compared with the general Swedish population, patients with lymphoedema scored significantly lower in general health (p = 0.006), vitality (p = 0.002) and social functioning (p = 0.025) assessed by the SF ‐36. From a cancer‐specific view, HRQ oL was similar to other Swedish studies using the FACT ‐G. Conclusions This study indicates that about 20% of the patients with lymphoedema had major impact on their HRQ oL. More effort and research is needed to identify, understand and support groups of patients with severe lymphoedema‐related problems.