Quality of Life Research最新文献

Purpose

Breast cancer (BC) screening enables early detection of BC, which may lead to improved quality of life (QoL). We aim to compare QoL between women with a screen-detected and clinically detected BC in the Netherlands.

Methods

We used data from the ‘Utrecht cohort for Multiple BREast cancer intervention studies and Long-term evaluation’ (UMBRELLA) between October 2013 and March 2022. Patients were categorized as screen-detected or clinically detected. We analysed three questionnaires, namely EORTC QLQ C-30, BR23, and HADS (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) completed by BC patients shortly after diagnosis (T1) and one-year after treatment (T2). Independent t-tests were performed to compare QoL average differences between the two groups. Bonferroni-corrected p-value significance threshold of 0.00057 was used. The magnitude of differences was calculated using Cohen’s d. The clinical relevance of QLQ-C30 differences was assessed based on interpretation guideline of EORTC-QLQ-C30 results.

Results

After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, there were 691 women with screen-detected BC and 480 with clinically detected BC. Generally, screen-detected BC patients reported a better QoL. At T1, their average QLQ-C30 summary score was higher (86.1) than clinically detected BC patients (83.0) (p < 0.0001). Cohen’s d for all items ranged between 0.00 and 0.39. A few QLQ-C30 score differences were clinically relevant, indicating better outcomes in emotional functioning, general health, constipation, and fatigue for women with screen-detected BC.

Conclusions

In the Netherlands, women with screen-detected BC reported statistically significant and better QoL than women with clinically detected BC. However, clinical relevance of the differences is limited.

Purpose

Both metabolic syndrome (MetS) and cognitive dysfunction impair health-related quality of life (HRQOL). This study aims to determine whether individuals experiencing both MetS and cognitive dysfunction have lower HRQOL.

Methods

This cross-sectional study enrolled 567 participants who attended outpatient clinics at a medical center in northern Taiwan. MetS was diagnosed according to the modified criteria for the Asian population. Cognitive function was categorized as normal, mild cognitive dysfunction, and advanced cognitive dysfunction according to the score of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Taiwanese version. HRQOL was assessed using the SF-36v2® Health Survey (SF-36v2). The associations of the comorbidity status of MetS and cognitive dysfunction with HRQOL were analyzed using linear regression models, adjusting for age, sex, marital status, education level, income groups, and activities of daily living.

Results

Out of 567 participants, 33 (5.8%) had MetS with mild cognitive dysfunction, and 34 (6.0%) had MetS with advanced cognitive dysfunction. Participants with both MetS and advanced cognitive dysfunction exhibited the lowest scores in the physical component summary and almost all scales of HRQOL. MetS exacerbated the inverse association between mild cognitive dysfunction and the mental component summary. For those with MetS, the scores on scales of role physical, bodily pain, vitality, and social functioning worsened as cognitive function deteriorated (all P_trend<0.05).

Conclusion

As the severity of comorbidity between MetS and cognitive dysfunction varies, patients exhibited poorer performance in different aspects of HRQOL. Future research is needed to find solutions to improve HRQOL for patients with both MetS and cognitive dysfunction.

Objective

The aim of this study is to provide Chinese utility weights for the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Utility Measure-Core 10 Dimensions (EORTC QLU-C10D) which is a preference-based cancer-specific utility instrument derived from the EORTC QLQ-C30.

Methods

We conducted an online survey of the general population in China, with quota sampling for age and gender. Each respondent was asked to complete a discrete choice experimental survey consisting of 16 randomly selected choice sets. The conditional logit model and mixed logit model were used to analyze respondents’ preferences, and the goodness of fit of the model was tested.

Results

A total of 2003 respondents were included in the analysis. Utility decrements within dimensions were typically monotonic. Monotonic inconsistency issues in the Fatigue, Sleep, and Nausea dimensions were normalized by monotonicity correction. Physical functioning, Pain, and Role functioning were associated with the greatest utility weights, with the smallest decrements being in Bowel problems and Emotional functioning. The utility value for the worst health state was 0.083, i.e. slightly higher than being dead.

Conclusions

This study provides the first China-specific set of value for the QLU-C10D based on societal preferences of the Chinese adult general population. The value set can be used as a cancer-specific scoring system for economic evaluations of new oncology therapies and technologies in China.

Purpose

This cross-sectional study aims to understand the relationship between responses on the Anxiety/Depression (A/D) dimension of the EQ-5D-5L and symptoms of anxiety and depression on the GAD-7 and PHQ-9 instruments. In doing so, we investigate the comparative performance of the dimension between diagnostic groups (i.e. anxiety (GAD-7); depression (PHQ-9); anxiety & depression versus none). We additionally investigate the discriminatory performance between sub-populations based on gender, age, education and self-reported chronic conditions.

Methods

19,902 general population participants completed a health survey in May/June 2020, from five European countries and the United States. Performance of A/D was calculated using the Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (AUROC), and was compared to having anxiety (GAD-7 ≥ 8), depression (PHQ-9 ≥ 10) and both versus none for the total population and sub-populations. Several additional sensitivity analyses were conducted, including calculations of the optimal A/D cut-off.

Results

The performance in the total sample was good (AUROC > 0.8) and did not differ significantly between diagnostic groups. The performance differed significantly between the age groups, with worse performance in the younger groups, and differed between those with a singular chronic condition, with worse performance in those indicating having an anxiety or depression disorder. The performance did not differ significantly by gender, education, nor total chronic conditions.

Conclusion

The A/D dimension captures symptoms of anxiety, depression or both equally well. Performance is worse in the younger population. Interpretation in those with a self-reported anxiety or depression disorder should be further investigated. This is the first-of-its-kind large population sample performance analysis, where we present evidence that the performance of the A/D dimension differs between ages, and thus intra-age comparative results may be flawed.

Purpose

To investigate the contribution of demographic trends in countries’ age and gender composition to value set validity and obsolescence.

Methods

Time-trade off (TTO) valuation data from 3 EQ-5D-3L value sets of 20 years or older from the United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States were re-analyzed using Bayesian heteroskedastic Tobit models with sex and age group-specific scale parameters. Original value sets were obtained by weighting the original preference structures with the countries’ original demographic composition at the time of the data collection. Updated value sets were created using the original preference structure weighted using the countries’ most recent demographic composition. The differences between the original and updated value sets were monitored and compared based on 95% credible intervals.

Results

The gender and age composition of the investigated countries changed in all 3 countries over time. The modelled health state preferences also depended on the respondents’ gender and age. However, the overall impact of this demographic change on the investigated value sets was negligeable in all 3 countries and this finding was robust to accounting for the impact of ethnicity trends in the United States.

Conclusion

Value sets may become redundant and obsolete for various reasons, but demographic change was not identified as a contributing factor.

Purpose

As the importance of the patient’s perspective on treatment outcome is becoming increasingly clear, the availability of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) has grown accordingly. There remains insufficient information regarding the quality of PROMs in patients with soft-tissue sarcomas (STSs). The objectives of this systematic review were (1) to identify all PROMs used in STS patients and (2) to critically appraise the methodological quality of these PROMs.

Methods

Literature searches were performed in MEDLINE and Embase on April 22, 2024. PROMs were identified by including all studies that evaluate (an aspect of) health-related quality of life in STS patients by using a PROM. Second, studies that assessed measurement properties of the PROMs utilized in STS patients were included. Quality of PROMs was evaluated by performing a COSMIN analysis.

Results

In 59 studies, 39 PROMs were identified, with the Toronto Extremity Salvage Score (TESS) being the most frequently utilized. Three studies evaluated methodological quality of PROMs in the STS population. Measurement properties of the TESS, Quick Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH) and European Organization for Research and Treatment for Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC-QLQ-C30) were reported. None of the PROMs utilized in the STS population can be recommended for use based on the current evidence and COSMIN analysis.

Conclusion

To ensure collection of reliable outcomes, PROMs require methodological evaluation prior to utilization in the STS population. Research should prioritize on determining relevant content and subsequently selecting the most suitable PROM for assessment.

Purpose: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) such as the Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory in Epilepsy (NDDI-E), a 6-item epilepsy-specific PROM, is used to screen for major depressive disorder symptoms for patients with epilepsy (PWE). The validity and interpretation of PROMs can be affected by differential item functioning (DIF), which occurs when subgroups of patients with the same underlying health status respond to and interpret questions about their health status differently. This study aims to determine whether NDDI-E items exhibit DIF and to identify subgroups of PWE that exhibit DIF in NDDI-E items.

Methods: Data were from the Calgary Comprehensive Epilepsy Program database, a clinical registry of adult PWE in Calgary, Canada. A tree-based partial credit model based on recursive partitioning (PCTree) was used to identify subgroups that exhibit DIF on NDDI-E items using patients' characteristics as covariates. Differences in the identified subgroups were characterized using multinomial logistic regression.

Results: Of the 1,576 patients in this cohort, 806 (51.1%) were female, and the median age was 38.0 years. PCTree identified four patient subgroups defined by employment status, age, and sex. Subgroup 1 were unemployed patients ≤ 26 years old, subgroup 2 were unemployed patients > 26 years, subgroup 3 were employed females, while subgroup 4 were employed male patients. The subgroups exhibited significant differences on education level, comorbidity index scores, marital status, type of epilepsy, and driving status.

Conclusion: PWE differed in their interpretation and responses to questions about their depression symptoms, and these differences were a function of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.

Purpose: Standardized patient-reported outcomes (PRO) monitoring during and after rectal cancer treatment provides insight into treatment-related toxicities patients experience and improves health-related quality-of-life as well as overall survival. We aimed to select a subset of the PRO version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE) for standardized monitoring of treatment-related symptomatic toxicities in rectal cancer.

Methods: We used a mixed methods approach including a literature review, and semi-structured interviews with health care providers (HCPs) involved in rectal cancer care and rectal cancer patients. Results from literature and interviews were summarized and used in a modified Delphi procedure to select a PRO-CTCAE subset specific for rectal cancer.

Results: Twenty-six PRO-CTCAE symptomatic toxicities were identified from literature. Fifteen HCPs from multiple disciplines (medical, radiation and surgical oncology), and a heterogeneous group of fifteen rectal cancer patients treated with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy and/or surgery, participated in semi-structured interviews. Ten HCPs (67%) and nine patients (90%) participated in the first Delphi round. The final selected PRO-CTCAE core-subset contained 16 symptomatic toxicities: 'diarrhea', 'fecal incontinence', 'constipation','bloating of the abdomen', 'pain in the abdomen', 'vomiting', 'decreased libido', 'pain during vaginal sex', 'ability to achieve and maintain erection', 'fatigue', 'anxiety', 'feeling that nothing could cheer you up', 'urinary incontinence', 'painful urination', 'general pain', and 'hand-foot syndrome'.

Conclusion: Based on a comprehensive mixed methods study, a PRO-CTCAE subset for standardized treatment-related symptomatic toxicity monitoring in rectal cancer was identified. Assessment of the effectiveness and compliance of symptomatic toxicity monitoring using this subset is recommended.

Purpose: To identify symptom clusters (SCs) in lung cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and explore their impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Methods: Patients were invited to complete the Chinese version of the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory with the Lung Cancer Module and the Quality of Life Questionnaire-core 30. Network analysis was employed to identify SCs. The associations between SCs and each function of HRQoL were examined using the Pearson correlation matrix. Multiple linear regression was applied to analyze the influencing factors of each function of HRQoL.

Results: A total of 623 lung cancer patients who were receiving chemotherapy were recruited. The global health status of lung cancer patients was 59.71 ± 21.09, and 89.73% of patients developed symptoms. Three SCs (Somato-psychological SC, Respiratory SC, and Gastrointestinal SC) were identified, and Somato-psychological SC and Gastrointestinal SC were identified as influencing factors for HRQoL in lung cancer patients.

Conclusion: Most lung cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy experience a range of symptoms, which can be categorized into three SCs. The Somato-psychological SC and Gastrointestinal SC negatively impacted patients' HRQoL. Health care providers should prioritize monitoring these SCs to identify high-risk patients early and implement targeted preventive and intervention measures for each SC, aiming to alleviate symptom burden and enhance HRQoL.