Background

Among the different cancers found in women, breast cancer is the most common. Breast cancer-related lymphedema is a serious health complication affecting the quality of life and sleep quality. This study evaluates the quality of life and sleep quality among Saudi women with different stages of lymphedema following the treatment of breast cancer.

Methods

This cross-sectional correlational study included 163 Saudi women with breast cancer-related lymphedema (Stages I-III), aged 28 to 56 years. From the patients identified for this study, women who suffered from mental and psychological dysfunctions or other malignant disorders were excluded. Copies of structured questionnaires were given to each participant during their visits to outpatient physiotherapy clinics. Quality of life was assessed using a valid questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30), while sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The differences between the different lymphedema stages have been assessed.

Results

Of the total number of participants 27 women had been diagnosed with stage I lymphedema, 84 women had been diagnosed with stage II lymphedema, and 52 women had been diagnosed with stage III lymphedema. All participants have shown low scores on both EORTC QLQ-C30 and PSQI. While analyzing the differences between the 3 stages of lymphedema with the Kruskal–Wallis test, noteworthy statistical differences between the 3 stages of lymphedema (P < .05) have been found. The Stage III lymphedema patients have been shown the lowest quality of life values in all scales when compared with the stage I and stage II lymphedema patients. For PSQI scores, the stage III lymphedema patients worse values than the stage I and stage II lymphedema patients (P < .05).

Conclusion and Recommendations

Both quality of life and quality of sleep have significantly decreased in Saudi women with different stages of breast cancer-related lymphedema. Quality of life and quality of sleep are the worst in stage III lymphedema patients. Future research should consider repeat and enlarge these results as well as assess the risk factors that affect the quality of life and quality of sleep among Saudi women suffering from breast cancer-related lymphedema.

中文翻译：

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评估患有乳腺癌相关淋巴水肿的沙特妇女的生活质量和睡眠质量：一项横断面相关研究

背景

在女性中发现的不同癌症中，乳腺癌是最常见的。乳腺癌相关淋巴水肿是一种严重的健康并发症，影响生活质量和睡眠质量。本研究评估了乳腺癌治疗后淋巴水肿不同阶段的沙特妇女的生活质量和睡眠质量。

方法

这项横断面相关研究包括 163 名患有乳腺癌相关淋巴水肿（I-III 期）的沙特女性，她们的年龄为 28 至 56 岁。从本研究确定的患者中，排除了患有精神和心理功能障碍或其他恶性疾病的女性。在访问物理治疗门诊期间，向每位参与者提供结构化问卷的副本。使用有效问卷 (EORTC QLQ-C30) 评估生活质量，而使用匹兹堡睡眠质量指数 (PSQI) 评估睡眠质量。已经评估了不同淋巴水肿阶段之间的差异。

结果

在参与者总数中，27 名女性被诊断为 I 期淋巴水肿，84 名女性被诊断为 II 期淋巴水肿，52 名女性被诊断为 III 期淋巴水肿。所有参与者在 EORTC QLQ-C30 和 PSQI 上的得分都很低。在用 Kruskal-Wallis 检验分析淋巴水肿 3 个阶段之间的差异时， 发现淋巴水肿 3 个阶段之间存在显着的统计学差异 ( P < .05)。与 I 期和 II 期淋巴水肿患者相比，III 期淋巴水肿患者在所有量表中的生活质量值最低。对于 PSQI 评分，III 期淋巴水肿患者比 I 期和 II 期淋巴水肿患者更差 ( P  < .05)。

结论和建议

患有乳腺癌相关淋巴水肿的不同阶段的沙特妇女的生活质量和睡眠质量均显着下降。III期淋巴水肿患者的生活质量和睡眠质量最差。未来的研究应考虑重复和扩大这些结果，并评估影响患有乳腺癌相关淋巴水肿的沙特妇女的生活质量和睡眠质量的风险因素。