Quality of life predictors in breast cancer women

The aim of this cross-sectional study is to investigate demographic and clinical factors that interfere with quality of life (QoL) in women with breast cancer. The sample was composed of 73 women at the mean age of 47.8 (sd = 7.8) years and time of disease at 3.08 (sd = 3.2) years. For purposes of assessing QoL, we applied the WHOQOL-bref instrument and for detecting depressive symptoms, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Because variables were arranged into temporally related categories, hierarchical multiple linear regression was performed: Group 1 (age and educational background), Group 2 (staging, time of disease, mastectomy and chemotherapy) and Group 3 (BDI). The lowest QoL ratings were associated with mastectomy in the physical (p = 0.002) and psychological (p = 0.02) domains and depressive symptoms in all domains of WHOQOL-bref (p<0.05). Because QoL assessments are viewed as potentially useful in clinical practice, it is critical that health professionals be alert to patients' depressive symptoms even several years after cancer diagnosis. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.