Abstract
Purpose: This cross-sectional study aimed at evaluating the healthrelated quality of life (QOL) of Japanese patients with lymphedema. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted. Twenty-seven patients with lymphedema of the upper or lower limb(s) who presented the two institutions between January and December 2010 completed the Short Form 36 (SF-36: a generic health-related QOL measure). Results: All components and summary scores of the generic health-related QOL reported by the patients were statistically worse than that of the Japanese norms. The patients with symptom duration of longer than 1 year, who underwent radiation therapy, or those undergoing chemotherapy reported significantly lower QOL. Conclusion: Lymphedema significantly deteriorates the QOL of the patients. Further evaluation with longitudinal design, increased number of cases and disease-specific QOL scale is warranted to better understand the QOL of the patients.
Highlights
Lymphedema is a chronic condition in which extremities become edematous due to the inadequate lymphatic circulation followed by the accumulation of protein-rich fluids in the interstitial tissues [1]
We evaluated the generic health-related quality of life (QOL) of 27 Japanese patients with lymphedema using Japanese version of Short Form 36 (SF-36), and clarified some of the factors related to the patients’ QOL
Majority of the patients were diagnosed as secondary lymphedema due to treatment of cancer (n=22)
Summary
Lymphedema is a chronic condition in which extremities become edematous due to the inadequate lymphatic circulation followed by the accumulation of protein-rich fluids in the interstitial tissues [1]. In a report published in 2009, the efficacy of complex physical therapy on 40 Japanese patients with lymphedema was evaluated using Short Form-36 (SF-36, a generic health-related QOL scale) and Skindex (disease-specific health-related QOL scale for skinrelated problems). This was a preliminary report and the actual scores of the QOL scales were not stated, the authors reported a statistically significant improvement in some of the Skindex scores after treatment [5]. A more recent study investigated QOL of 83 Japanese patients with primary lymphedema using SF-36, EuroQol 5-dimension (EQ-5D, a generic health-related QOL scale), and BriefCOPE (a tool to assess coping styles of the patients) [6]. The patients reported significantly lower scores in general health perception subscale of SF-36 compared to Japanese norms, but all the other subscales were maintained at national average
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