The importance of physical function in patients with multiple myeloma for improving quality of life

• Published in: Supportive care in cancer Vol. 28; no. 5; pp. 2361 - 2367
• Main Authors: Kim, Shin Hoo, Kim, Inho, Koh, Youngil, Shin, Dongyeop, Hong, Joonsik, Seo, Kwan Sik
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.05.2020; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aged; Albumin; Cancer; Care and treatment; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression - diagnosis; Depression - psychology; Depression, Mental; Fatigue - diagnosis; Fatigue - psychology; Female; Hemoglobin; Hemoglobins - analysis; Humans; Male; Medical colleges; Medical research; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Medicine, Experimental; Middle Aged; Mobility; Multiple myeloma; Multiple Myeloma - psychology; Multiple Myeloma - rehabilitation; Multiple Myeloma - therapy; Nursing; Nursing Research; Oncology; Original Article; Pain Medicine; Physical fitness; Physical Functional Performance; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Quality of life; Quality of Life - psychology; Quantitative analysis; Rehabilitation Medicine; Retrospective Studies; Serum Albumin - analysis; Surveys and Questionnaires; South Korea; Physical function; Multiple myeloma; Quality of life; Cancer
• ISSN: 0941-4355; 1433-7339
• DOI: 10.1007/s00520-019-05054-y

Purpose To investigate the relationship between physical function and quality of life in multiple myeloma patients. Methods In this retrospective cross-sectional study, data from patients with multiple myeloma ( N  = 63), who were referred to the department of Rehabilitation Medicine from October 2017 to May 2018, were reviewed. Patients were excluded based on the following criteria: acute illness, unstable medical conditions, impaired cognition or communication, refusal, or inability to perform the assessment. Physical function was evaluated with the Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Mini-BESTest), and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer questionnaires QLQ-C30 and QLQ-MY20 were used for the evaluation of quality of life. To evaluate fatigue and psychotic status, the Fatigue Severity Scale and Beck Depression Inventory were used. Patients were divided into two groups (“good-function group” and “poor-function group”), based on previously studied normative values of the Mini-BESTest. Clinical data was reviewed to interrogate the contributing factors of physical function. Results Positive correlations were observed between Mini-BESTest scores and all domains of the QLQ-C30. The Mini-BESTest score was lower in patients with lower serum hemoglobin ( r  = 0.396, p  = 0.001) and albumin levels ( r  = 0.440, p  < 0.001), severe disease-related symptoms ( r  = − 0.39, p  = 0.02), and depression ( r  = − 0.538, p  < 0.001). Further, the poor-function group showed lower hemoglobin ( p  = 0.024) and albumin levels ( p  = 0.004). Conclusion In patients with multiple myeloma, physical function had a significant relationship with quality of life. Low hemoglobin and albumin levels, severe disease- or treatment-related symptoms, and depression were related to decreased physical function, and thus consequentially exert an effect on quality of life in multiple myeloma patients.