scholarly journals Factors Associated with the Quality of Life of Patients with Cancer Undergoing Radiotherapy

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-87
Author(s):  
Ki Ho Seol ◽  
Su Hyun Bong ◽  
Dae Hun Kang ◽  
Jun Won Kim

Objective Approximately half of patients with cancer have comorbidities, such as adjustment disorder, major depressive disorder, and delirium. Radiotherapy can cause psychological problems, e.g., the fear of treatment and its side effects, anxiety, depression, and social isolation. Health-related quality of life (QoL) must be determined to evaluate the effectiveness of cancer treatment. We analyzed the clinical, psychological, and sociodemographic factors influencing the QoL of patients with cancer who were undergoing radiotherapy.Methods Twenty-six patients undergoing radiotherapy (10 male, 16 female) were included. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected prior to radiotherapy. Psychosocial factors were assessed by self-reported questionnaires before, immediately after, and 3 months after radiotherapy. A multivariate regression analysis identified factors affecting QoL at each time point.Results Patients’ diagnoses were breast, cervical, prostate, endometrial, rectal, hypopharyngeal, laryngeal, liver, gallbladder, esophageal, ovarian, lung, and skin cancers. Before radiotherapy, better resilience was significantly associated with a higher QoL score (R<sup>2</sup>=0.199, p=0.033). Immediately after radiotherapy, financial difficulty was significantly associated with a lower QoL score (R<sup>2</sup>=0.274, p=0.010). Three months after radiotherapy, the presence of chronic disease (R<sup>2</sup>=0.398, p=0.002) and the severity of nausea and vomiting were significantly associated with a lower QoL score (R<sup>2</sup>=0.278, p=0.014).Conclusion Resilience, financial difficulty, the presence of chronic diseases, and the severity of nausea and vomiting significantly influenced the QoL of patients with cancer who were undergoing radiotherapy. Factors affecting QoL varied at each time point. Thus, patients with cancer should undergo regular mental health assessments, including assessments of QoL. Multidimensional (physical, psychological, and social) approaches and individualized time-based interventions are needed to improve the QoL of cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Won Kim ◽  
Dae Hun Kang ◽  
Su hyun Bong ◽  
Ki Ho Seol

Abstract Background: Nearly half of cancer patients have comorbidities such as adjustment disorder, major depressive disorder, and delirium. Radiotherapy can cause psychological problems, e.g., the fear of treatment and its side effects, anxiety, depression, and social isolation. Determining health-related quality of life (QoL) is crucial for evaluating cancer treatment effectiveness. We analyzed the clinical, psychological, and sociodemographic factors influencing QoL in cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.Methods: Twenty-six patients undergoing radiotherapy (10 male, 16 female) were included. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected prior to radiotherapy. Psychosocial factors were assessed by self-reported questionnaires before, immediately after, and 3 months after radiotherapy. Multiple regression analysis identified factors affecting QoL at each time point.Results: Patients’ diagnoses were breast, cervical, prostate, endometrial, rectal, hypopharyngeal, laryngeal, liver, gallbladder, esophageal, ovarian, lung, and skin cancers. Before radiotherapy, better resilience was significantly associated with a higher QoL score (R2=0.199, p=0.033). Immediately after radiotherapy, financial difficulty was significantly associated with a lower QoL score (R2=0.274, p=0.010). Three months after radiotherapy, the presence of chronic disease (R2=0.398, p=0.002) and the severity of nausea and vomiting were significantly associated with a lower QoL score (R2=0.278, p=0.014).Conclusions: Resilience, financial difficulty, the presence of chronic diseases, and the severity of nausea and vomiting significantly influenced QoL in cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. Factors affecting QoL varied at each time point. Thus, cancer patients should undergo regular mental health assessments, including QoL. Multidimensional (physical, psychological, and social) approaches and individualized time-based interventions are needed to improve the QoL of cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Drzayich Antol ◽  
Adrianne Waldman Casebeer ◽  
Raya Khoury ◽  
Todd Michael ◽  
Andrew Renda ◽  
...  

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.


Author(s):  
Kisook Kim ◽  
Hyohyeon Yoon

The study aimed to identify and compare the factors affecting health-related quality of life (HRQoL) depending on the occupational status of cancer survivors. This study was a secondary data analysis from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) from 2014 to 2018. Hierarchical multivariate linear regression was used to investigate the factors affecting the HRQoL of each group. Non-working cancer survivors had significantly lower HRQoL than working cancer survivors (p < 0.001). A hierarchical multiple regression model showed that demographic, health-related, and psychological characteristics explained 62.0% of non-working cancer survivors’ HRQoL (F = 4.29, p < 0.001). Among the input variables, health-related characteristics were the most influential factors (ΔR2 = 0.274, F = 9.84, p < 0.001). For working cancer survivors, health-related characteristics were the only variable that was statistically associated with HRQoL (F = 5.556, p < 0.001). It is important to enhance physical activities and manage the chronic disease to improve the HRQoL of working cancer survivors. Further, managing health-related characteristics, including depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation, is necessary for non-working cancer survivors. Regarding working survivors, psychological factors such as depressive symptoms and suicidal tendencies did not affect HRQoL. Therefore, an early and effective return to work program should be developed for the improvement of their HRQoL.


2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Smith ◽  
John A. Glaspy ◽  
N. Simon Tchekmedyian ◽  
Matthew D. Austin ◽  
Joel D. Kallich

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL4) ◽  
pp. 1889-1894
Author(s):  
Setareh Dastyar Haghighi ◽  
Vandhita Nair ◽  
Vas Sonali Maria ◽  
Gopika K S ◽  
Divya Mol E C ◽  
...  

Alcohol induced cirrhosis prevalence has increased worldwide of late and has added markedly to the global burden of diseases. However, research involving quality of life as treatment outcome for alcoholic liver disease is limited. The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the health related quality of life and factors affecting it in alcoholic liver disease patients. Secondary objective was to analyze mental health status and prescription pattern in alcoholic liver disease patients. Patients, eligible to participate, were briefed regarding the purpose of the study and informed consent was obtained. Self-designed case report form and validated questionnaires were used to record information on physical, mental and emotional functioning of the patient. The study included 51 patients. It was found that majority had low quality of life scores with role limitation due to physical health (5.39 ± 16.9) domain being the most affected. It was also found that the symptom fatigue caused the most hindrance to patient’s daily activities (1.31± 1.20). Most of the patients reported having mild depression (50.98%). Prescription analysis showed that diuretics (74.50%) and drugs for hepatic encephalopathy were the most commonly used drugs. The present study found that alcoholic liver disease considerably impaired health related quality of life and identified the contributing factors as presence of complication, age, severity of disease and symptoms like fatigue and abdominal pain. Hence, evaluating factors affecting quality of life and prescription patterns help identify targets for novel treatment strategies.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillen Nozibuyiso Maqhuzu ◽  
Boglárka Lilla Szentes ◽  
Michael Kreuter ◽  
Thomas Bahmer ◽  
Nicolas Kahn ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQL) in interstitial lung disease (ILD) patients is impaired. We aimed to identify baseline predictors for HRQL decline within a 12-month observation period. Methods: We analyzed 194 ILD patients from two German ILD-centers in the observational HILDA study. We employed the disease-specific King’s Brief Interstitial Lung Disease questionnaire (K-BILD) with the subdomains ‘psychological impact’, ‘chest symptoms’ and ‘breathlessness and activities’, and the generic EQ-5D Visual Analog Scale (VAS). We evaluated how many patients experienced a clinically meaningful decline in HRQL. Subsequently, we investigated medical and sociodemographic factors as potential predictors of HRQL deterioration. Results: Within the study population (34.0% male, Ø age 61.7) mean HRQL scores hardly changed between baseline and follow up (K-BILD: 52.8 vs. 52.5 | VAS: 60.0 vs. 57.3). On the intra-individual level, 30.4% (n = 59) experienced a clinically relevant deterioration in K-BILD total score and 35.4% (n = 68) in VAS. Lower baseline forced vital capacity % predicted determined HRQL decline in K-BILD total score (ß– coefficient -0.02, p = 0.007), VAS (ß–coefficient -0.03, p < 0.0001), and in the subdomain ‘psychological impact’ (ß– coefficient -0.02, p = 0.014). Lower baseline diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide % predicted determined deterioration in ‘breathlessness and activities’ (ß– coefficient -0.04, p = 0.003) and ‘chest symptoms’ (ß– coefficient -0.04, p = 0.002). Additionally, increasing age predicted decline in ‘psychological impact’ (ß–coefficient 0.06, p < 0.007). Conclusion: A third of ILD patients experience a clinically relevant HRQL deterioration within 12 months, which is mainly predicted by lung function baseline value.


2002 ◽  
Vol 186 (5) ◽  
pp. S232-S238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura A. Magee ◽  
Kiran Chandra ◽  
Paul Mazzotta ◽  
Donna Stewart ◽  
Gideon Koren ◽  
...  

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