Abstract
Objectives
To explore upper-limb disability with respect to health outcomes, operationalized
by Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand, and to identify factors associated
with each element of upper-limb disability over a 2-year period in breast cancer survivors.
Design
Prospective cohort study.
Setting
University hospital cancer center.
Participants
Individuals (N=191) recruited from all the patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer
before cancer surgery at a university hospital between April 2006 and March 2007.
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures
We evaluated demographics, social variables, and upper-limb disability in a baseline
assessment preoperatively. Follow-up evaluations were conducted in outpatient clinics
3 months after surgery and at 12 and 24 months after surgery. Linear regression models
with the generalized estimating equations of the compound symmetry covariance structure
were used.
Results
Time since surgery was inversely associated with the impairment items score (β=−.20;
95% confidence interval [CI], −.49 to −.08) and positively associated with the activity
limitation items score (β=.59; 95% CI, .29–.88). The impact of upper-limb disability
preoperatively on the items involving both the activity limitation and participation
restrictions scores was positive (β=2.89; 95% CI, .76–5.02) after adjusting for demographic,
treatment type, and socioeconomic factors.
Conclusions
Our study revealed that upper-limb impairment recovered with time after breast cancer
surgery; however, upper-limb function-related activity and participation were reduced
through 2 years after surgery.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
CI (confidence interval), DASH (Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand), ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 03, 2015
Footnotes
Supported by the National Research and Development Program for Cancer Control, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea (grant nos. 1020320 and 1320320) and the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital Research Fund (grant no. 02-2011-028).
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
