Fatigue in breast cancer survivors two to five years post diagnosis: a HEAL Study report.
Journal Article (Journal Article;Multicenter Study)
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to estimate prevalence of fatigue, identify correlates of fatigue and evaluate the relationship between fatigue and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a large cohort of disease-free breast cancer survivors. METHODS: Participants are enrolled in the HEAL Study, a multi-center prospective study of women diagnosed with in-situ to Stage IIIA breast cancer. HEAL participants (n = 1183) completed a baseline and a 24-month follow-up interview. Women in this report (n = 800) also completed a quality of life questionnaire that included the Piper Fatigue Scale and the RAND SF-36 two to five years after diagnosis. Multivariate regression methods were used to identify significant factors associated with fatigue. SF-36 scores for fatigued survivors were compared to non-fatigued survivor scores and population norms. RESULTS: Forty-one percent of the breast cancer survivors were fatigued. Significant correlates of fatigue included pain, cognitive problems, physical inactivity, weight gain/personal appearance and antidepressant use. Fatigue was associated with poorer HRQOL, most notably in areas of role and social functioning. CONCLUSION: This study provides further support for the conclusion that a significant proportion of breast cancer survivors experience fatigue that compromises HRQOL two to five years post-diagnosis.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Meeske, K; Smith, AW; Alfano, CM; McGregor, BA; McTiernan, A; Baumgartner, KB; Malone, KE; Reeve, BB; Ballard-Barbash, R; Bernstein, L
Published Date
- August 2007
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 16 / 6
Start / End Page
- 947 - 960
PubMed ID
- 17457697
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0962-9343
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1007/s11136-007-9215-3
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- Netherlands