Asian Oncol Nurs.  2019 Jun;19(2):90-97. 10.5388/aon.2019.19.2.90.

Menopausal Symptoms and Quality of Life Among Breast Cancer Patients with Chemotherapy-induced Amenorrhea

• Park JH
• Jung YS
• Kim JY
• Bae SH
• Jo Y

• KMID: 2451734
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5388/aon.2019.19.2.90

Abstract

PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to evaluate the severity of menopausal symptoms and their impact on the quality of life (QOL) in breast cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea.
METHODS
A cross-sectional survey design was used. Participants were 112 breast cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea. They completed the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and multiple regression with SPSS/WIN 23.0.
RESULTS
The prevalence of symptoms among the participants were as follows: sleep problems, 88.4%; physical and mental exhaustion, 80.4%; joint and muscular discomfort, 76.8%; and depression, 70.5%. Menopausal symptoms had a significant negative association with QOL. The results of the regression analysis showed that psychological and urogenital symptoms were statistically significant in explaining patients' QOL and accounted for 70% of the total variance.
CONCLUSION
Menopausal symptoms appear to be a significant problem for premenopausal breast cancer patients. Assessment and control of menopausal symptoms played a large role in maintaining the quality of life in breast cancer patients.

Keyword

Breast neoplasms; Menopause; Quality of life; Drug therapy

MeSH Terms

Amenorrhea*
Breast Neoplasms*
Breast*
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression
Drug Therapy
Female
Humans
Joints
Menopause
Prevalence
Quality of Life*

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