Co-occurring Fatigue and Lymphatic Pain Incrementally Aggravate Their Negative Effects on Activities of Daily Living, Emotional Distress, and Overall Health of Breast Cancer Patients.
Date
2022-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Repository Usage Stats
views
downloads
Citation Stats
Attention Stats
Abstract
Background
Fatigue and lymphatic pain are the most common and debilitating long-term adverse effects of breast cancer treatment. Fatigue and pain independently have negative effects on quality of life, physical functions, and cancer recurrence-free survival. The interactions between fatigue and pain may aggravate their negative effects.Objectives
Examine the effects of co-occurring fatigue and lymphatic pain on activities of daily living (ADLs), emotional distress, and overall health of breast cancer patients.Methods
A cross-sectional and observational design was used to enroll 354 breast cancer patients. Valid and reliable instruments were used to assess fatigue, lymphatic pain, ADLs, emotional distress, and overall health. Descriptive statistics and multivariable regression models were used for data analysis.Results
After controlling for demographic and clinical factors, patients with co-occurring fatigue and lymphatic pain had higher odds of having impaired ADLs (OR = 24.43, CI = [5.44-109.67], P < .001) and emotional distress (OR = 26.52, CI = [9.64-72.90], P < .001) compared to patients with only fatigue and only lymphatic pain. Patients with co-occurring fatigue and lymphatic pain had 179% increase in impaired ADL scores (B = 8.06, CI = [5.54-10.59]) and 211% increase in emotional distress scores (B = 9.17, CI = [5.52-12.83]) compared to those without co-occurring fatigue and lymphatic pain. Patients with co-occurring fatigue and lymphatic pain had a 34% decrease (B = -26.29, CI = [-31.90 to -20.69]) and patients with only fatigue had a 33% decrease in overall health scores (B = -25.74, 95% CI = [-34.14 to -17.33]), indicating poor overall health.Conclusions
Fatigue and lymphatic pain affected 66.4% of breast cancer patients. Findings from this study suggest that co-occurring fatigue and lymphatic pain have negative effects on breast cancer patients' ADLs, emotional distress, and overall health. The synergistic interactions between fatigue and lymphatic pain incrementally aggravated their negative effects on ADLs and emotional distress. Findings of the study highlight the need to evaluate the underlying mechanisms for co-occurring fatigue and lymphatic pain and develop interventions that target both fatigue and lymphatic pain to improve breast cancer patients' the quality of life.Type
Department
Description
Provenance
Subjects
Citation
Permalink
Published Version (Please cite this version)
Publication Info
Fu, Mei Rosemary, Melissa L McTernan, Jeanna M Qiu, Christine Miaskowski, Yvette P Conley, Eunjung Ko, Deborah Axelrod, Amber Guth, et al. (2022). Co-occurring Fatigue and Lymphatic Pain Incrementally Aggravate Their Negative Effects on Activities of Daily Living, Emotional Distress, and Overall Health of Breast Cancer Patients. Integrative cancer therapies, 21. p. 15347354221089605. 10.1177/15347354221089605 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/27276.
This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
Collections
Scholars@Duke
Tamara J. Somers
Tamara J. Somers, PhD, is a Clinical Psychologist and Faculty Member in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Somers conducts research developing, testing, and implementing behavioral interventions for pain and other symptoms in patients with chronic disease (e.g., cancer, arthritis). She is particularly interested in developing behavioral interventions that are personalized to the needs of individual patients and using innovative delivery methods to deliver the interventions. Grant awards from the NIH, American Cancer Society, and other funding agencies support her research. Dr. Somers also co-directs a clinical psychology training program at the Duke Cancer Institute (DCI) that trains graduate students, clinical psychology interns, and post-doctoral fellows in psychosocial and behavioral symptom management interventions.
Unless otherwise indicated, scholarly articles published by Duke faculty members are made available here with a CC-BY-NC (Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial) license, as enabled by the Duke Open Access Policy. If you wish to use the materials in ways not already permitted under CC-BY-NC, please consult the copyright owner. Other materials are made available here through the author’s grant of a non-exclusive license to make their work openly accessible.