Korean J Fam Pract.  2021 Oct;11(5):385-392. 10.21215/kjfp.2021.11.5.385.

Factors Associated with Poor Self-Rated Health in Cancer Patients

• Ju HR
• Jeon YR
• Kang SY
• Lee JA
• Kim YS

• KMID: 2521444
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.21215/kjfp.2021.11.5.385

Abstract

Background
Self-rated health (SRH) is a useful indicator of general health which predicts survival for cancer patients. The aim of our study was to investigate the determinants of poor SRH in cancer patients.
Methods
We conducted a survey for 218 cancer patients aged ≥20 years who visited the comorbidity clinic for cancer patients in Asan Medical Center from January 2017 to July 2018. We investigated the socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, comorbidities, cancer-related factors, and SRH status of the participants. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the factors affecting SRH.
Results
Among the 218 study participants, 35.3% reported good SRH, and 64.7% reported poor SRH. After adjusting for the age, sex, education status, and marital status, poor SRH was associated with ≥5 years of survival period (odds ratio [OR]=2.67, confidence interval [CI] 1.15–6.19), severe stress (OR=3.19, CI 1.40–8.74), depressive mood (OR=1.93, CI 1.05–3.57), and having liver or pancreas cancer (OR=2.99, CI 1.42–6.31).
Conclusion
Participants with long survival period, psychiatric distress, and liver or pancreas cancer were likely to report poor SRH. Since SRH is a meaningful indicator of general health, an appropriate intervention is necessary for improving the SRH of cancer patients.

Keyword

Self-Rated Health; Cancer; Korea