Health‐related quality of life in patients with lymphoedema – a cross‐sectional study.

Introduction: Lymphoedema may cause complex problems that can strongly influence patients' health‐related quality of life (HRQoL). The main purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of lymphoedema on HRQoL in patients with varying forms of lymphoedema. Methods: The Lymphoedema Quality of L...

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Published in:Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences Vol. 32; no. 2; pp. 634 - 645
Main Authors: Klernäs, Pia, Johnsson, Aina, Horstmann, Vibeke, Johansson, Karin
Format: research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Jun2018
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jun2018
      vid: 32
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      pub: Wiley-Blackwell
      place: Malden, Massachusetts
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        10.1111/scs.12488
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        atl: Health‐related quality of life in patients with lymphoedema – a cross‐sectional study.
      aug:
        au:
          Klernäs, Pia
          Johnsson, Aina
          Horstmann, Vibeke
          Johansson, Karin
        affil: Department of Health Sciences, Division of Physiotherapy, Lund University, Sweden
      sug:
        subj:
          Lymphedema
          Quality of Life
          Health Status
          Human
          Funding Source
          Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36)
          Questionnaires
          Scales
          Descriptive Statistics
          Socioeconomic Factors
          Cross Sectional Studies
          Multicenter Studies
          Sweden
          Academic Medical Centers
          Rehabilitation Centers
          Test-Retest Reliability
          Summated Rating Scaling
          Functional Assessment
          Mann-Whitney U Test
          Chi Square Test
          Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient
          Kruskal-Wallis Test
          Male
          Female
          Adult
          Middle Age
          Aged
          Outpatients
          Activities of Daily Living
          Lymphedema Symptoms
          Lymphedema Classification
          Lymphedema Psychosocial Factors
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Middle Aged: 45-64 years
          Aged: 65+ years
          Male
          Female
      ab: Introduction: Lymphoedema may cause complex problems that can strongly influence patients' health‐related quality of life (HRQoL). The main purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of lymphoedema on HRQoL in patients with varying forms of lymphoedema. Methods: The Lymphoedema Quality of Life Inventory (LyQLI), 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 LyQLI 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 LyQLI, thus having a low HRQoL. Lower HRQoL was found in the practical domain of LyQLI 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 HRQoL tended to decrease with age, with a significant correlation in the psychosocial domain (rs = 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, HRQoL 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 HRQoL. More effort and research is needed to identify, understand and support groups of patients with severe lymphoedema‐related problems.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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