Correlates Influencing Cognitive Impairment in Breast Cancer Patients receiving Chemotherapy

Bok Yae Chung; Eun Jung Cho

doi:10.5388/aon.2012.12.3.221

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Chung and Cho: Correlates Influencing Cognitive Impairment in Breast Cancer Patients receiving Chemotherapy

Original Article

Asian Oncology Nursing

Asian Oncology Nursing 2012; 12(3): 221-229.

Published online: 30 September 2012

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5388/aon.2012.12.3.221

Correlates Influencing Cognitive Impairment in Breast Cancer Patients receiving Chemotherapy

Bok Yae Chung¹, Eun Jung Cho²

¹Kyungpook National University College of Nursing, Daegu, Korea.

²Department of Nursing, Sorabol College, Gyeongju, Korea.

Address reprint requests to: Cho, Eun Jung. Department of Nursing, Sorabol College, 165 Chunghy-dong, Gyeongju 780-971, Korea. Tel: +82-54-770-3658, Fax: +82-54-770-3757, ejc10004@sorabol.ac.kr

Received 3 August 2012 Accepted 8 September 2012

(open-access):

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to identify correlates influencing cognitive impairment in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Methods

Study subjects consisted of 102 breast cancer patients who received chemotherapy. Subjects were the members of a breast cancer self-help group. Data were collected using structured self-reporting questionnaires including scales of cognitive impairment, physical status, fatigue, quality of life, emotional status, sleeping, family support, and menopausal symptoms. Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used for statistical analyses.

Results

Breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy appeared to show a high level of cognitive impairment. Among demographic characteristics, the effects of economic status and family type on cognitive impairment were found to be statistically significant. Among disease related characteristics, the effect of duration of chemotherapy on cognitive impairment was statistically significant. Menopausal symptoms were positively associated with cognitive impairment. The model including postmenopausal symptoms and caregiver type explained about 66% of variability in cognitive impairment.

Conclusion

These findings highlight the importance of contextual factors in understanding cognitive impairment in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and can be used to develop appropriate, effective nursing interventions.

Keywords: Breast Neoplasms, Chemotherapy, Cognitive Impairment

Figures and Tables

Table 1

Demographic Characteristics & Disease Related Characteristics (N=102)

Table 2

Cognitive Function & Related Variables (N=102)

Table 3

Differences in Cognitive Function by Demographic Characteristics (N=102)

^a,bScheffe test (means with the different letter are significantly different).

Table 4

Differences in Cognitive Function by Disease Related Characteristics (N=102)

^a,bScheffe test (means with the different letter are significantly different).

Table 5

Correlated Factors on Cognitive Function

Notes

This Research was supported by Kyungpook National University Research Fund, 2009.

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