1. Perceived cognitive functioning in breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy compared to matched healthy women: Evidence from a Portuguese study.
- Author
-
Oliveira, Ana F., Torres, Ana, Teixeira, Ricardo J., Monteiro, Sara, Pereira, Anabela, and Santos, Isabel M.
- Subjects
NONPARAMETRIC statistics ,STATISTICS ,CANCER chemotherapy ,CROSS-sectional method ,MULTIPLE regression analysis ,COGNITION ,WOMEN ,CASE-control method ,HEALTH status indicators ,MANN Whitney U Test ,FISHER exact test ,CANCER patients ,PSYCHOLOGICAL tests ,COMPARATIVE studies ,T-test (Statistics) ,QUESTIONNAIRES ,MENTAL depression ,RESEARCH funding ,SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC factors ,PSYCHOLOGICAL adaptation ,ANXIETY ,STATISTICAL correlation ,DATA analysis software ,DATA analysis ,BREAST tumors - Abstract
Aim: Cognitive concerns are one of the most frequently reported symptoms by breast cancer survivors. This study aimed to evaluate perceived cognitive functioning in Portuguese women with breast cancer treated with chemotherapy. Methods: A cross‐sectional study enrolling 146 women (73 with breast cancer and 73 healthy) was conducted from August to October 2017, invited to participate through online dissemination. Participants completed self‐reported questionnaires to collect sociodemographic and clinical data and assess perceived cognitive functioning and psychological adjustment variables (anxiety and depression). Results: Compared to healthy women, women with breast cancer showed significantly lower scores on the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy‐Cognitive Function (FACT‐Cog) subscales and higher levels of depression. Both groups showed significant negative correlations between perceived cognitive functioning and anxiety and depression. Health status and depression seem to better explain perceived cognitive functioning, with health status adding significantly more explained variance beyond sociodemographic and psychological adjustment variables. Conclusion: The current findings provide evidence for the existence of more cognitive complaints among Portuguese women with breast cancer, compared to healthy individuals. Anxiety, depression, age and education also explain perceived cognitive functioning. Considering that health status and psychological adjustment seem to significantly explain perceived cognitive functioning, special attention should be given by health‐care professionals, including nurses, to designing clinical interventions for breast cancer patients to help manage cognitive impairment. Summary statement: What is already known about this topic? Cancer and associated treatments have diverse short‐ and long‐term side effects. Deficits in cognitive functions are one of the most frequently reported for breast cancer specifically due to chemotherapy.Subjective assessment of cognitive function is often neglected, although it might be clinically very useful and an important indicator of the impact of cognitive impairment on daily functioning.There is currently no Portuguese data on perceived cognitive impairment in cancer. What this paper adds? This Portuguese study shows that, compared to a matched healthy sample, breast cancer patients have significantly more cognitive complaints, as assessed by the FACT‐Cog scale.Furthermore, our findings showed that higher levels of anxiety and depression are associated with worse perceived cognitive functioning.Cognitive complaints in breast cancer patients are predicted by a complexity of factors, such as psychological adjustment, age, and education. The implications of this paper: Health‐care professionals, including nurses, should recognize cognitive complaints as legitimate in breast cancer patients.Findings may deepen nurses' knowledge about cognitive concerns in breast cancer patients, in order to improve the quality of care provided to this population.The results of the study highlight the importance of tackling this problem with specifically designed clinical interventions that target both the cognitive deficits and the psychological adjustment of patients, especially depressive symptomatology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF