The association between comorbidities and the quality of life among colorectal cancer survivors in the People’s Republic of China

Figures & data

Table 1 Summary statistics of 1,398 colorectal cancer survivors

Variables	Number (%)
Age (years)
<50	45 (3.2)
50–59	343 (24.5)
60–69	649 (46.4)
≥70	361 (25.8)
Sex
Male	670 (47.9)
Female	728 (52.1)
Body mass index (BMI, kg/m^2)
<18.5	169 (12.1)
≤18–<25	735 (52.6)
≤25–<30	366 (26.2)
≥30	128 (9.2)
Years since diagnosis	8.6±7.0
Marital status
Divorced/widowed/separated/single	158 (11.3)
Married/with partner	1,240 (88.7)
Education
Primary school	144 (10.3)
Middle school or vocational school	1,005 (71.9)
Junior college or above	249 (17.8)
Monthly household income per capita (¥)
Under 2,000	348 (24.9)
2,000–4,000	805 (57.6)
Over 4,000	245 (17.5)
Number of comorbidities
0	283 (20.2)
1	311 (22.2)
2	277 (19.8)
≥3	527 (37.7)
Comorbidities
Hypertension	538 (38.5)
Diabetes	250 (17.9)
Cardiovascular	360 (25.8)
Respiratory diseases	169 (12.1)
Digestive diseases	723 (51.7)
Musculoskeletal diseases	409 (29.3)

Table 2 The association between comorbidities and adjusted scores of QOL among colorectal cancer patients

With Comorbidity, n=1,115 (without comorbidity, n=283)		With HPT, n=538 (without HPT, n=860)	With DM, n=250 (without DM, n=1,148)	With HD, n=360 (without HD, n=1,038)	With RD, n=169 (without RD, n=1,229)	With DD, n=723 (without DD, n=675)	With MD, n=409 (without MD, n=989)
EORTC QLQ-C30
PF	−4.6 (81.9)***	−1.4 (81.9)	−2.9 (80.4)*	−6.1 (78.1)***	−8.4 (75.3)***	−4.3 (80.8)***	−7.6 (77.4)***
RF	−3.7 (89.0)*	−1.0 (89.1)	−2.7 (87.5)	−5.5 (85.5)***	−5.7 (84.7)**	−3.7 (88.0)**	−5.1 (86.1)***
CF	−5.6 (84.5)***	−2.1 (84.2)	−3.6 (82.6)*	−6.0 (81.0)***	−11.4 (75.5)***	−4.4 (83.6)***	−6.9 (80.7)***
EF	−5.8 (78.5)***	−0.9 (79.0)	−3.9 (76.4)**	−6.7 (74.5)***	−10.2 (70.6)***	−5.1 (77.3)***	−8.7 (73.5)***
SF	−5.9 (77.5)**	−0.2 (78.5)	−2.3 (76.8)	−6.6 (73.6)***	−15.1 (65.3)***	−6.8 (75.6)***	−8.6 (72.6)***
QL	−7.1 (60.6)**	−5.3 (58.7)**	−4.6 (58.3)*	−9.2 (55.0)***	−16.5 (47.5)***	−5.9 (59.3)***	−8.2 (56.2)***
FA	11.0 (29.8)***	1.5 (28.7)	5.0 (31.8)**	8.1 (33.9)***	14.0 (40.1)***	8.8 (31.7)***	8.6 (33.8)***
NV	1.1 (3.2)	0.3 (3.2)	1.6 (4.3)	1.3 (4.0)	5.0 (7.4)***	1.0 (3.5)	1.4 (4.0)
PA	7.8 (17.4)***	1.7 (17.0)	4.1 (19.2)**	9.3 (23.0)***	12.0 (26.5)***	5.3 (18.3)***	13.7 (25.5)***
DY	6.3 (15.8)***	3.0 (16.5)*	2.7 (16.8)	8.9 (21.4)***	16.3 (29.0)***	4.6 (16.7)***	7.6 (20.0)***
SL	4.5 (18.7)*	0.5 (18.2)	2.4 (19.8)	4.8 (21.5)**	8.0 (24.9)**	6.3 (20.7)***	5.9 (22.0)**
AP	3.4 (10.9)*	1.7 (11.3)	3.1 (12.8)*	5.6 (14.5)***	9.1 (18.3)***	3.2 (11.7)**	6.4 (14.7)***
CO	8.0 (15.8)***	0.2 (14.5)	2.3 (16.2)	3.7 (17.1)*	7.5 (20.9)**	7.7 (17.8)***	5.7 (18.3)***
DI	5.6 (12.7)**	2.9 (13.4)*	3.6 (14.5)*	5.4 (15.7)***	10.9 (21.2)***	6.0 (14.3)***	4.4 (14.7)**
FI	4.3 (30.4)	0.7 (30.0)	1.3 (30.7)	4.6 (33.1)*	12.2 (40.3)***	4.7 (31.7)*	7.1 (34.6)***

Notes:

* P<0.05,

** P<0.01,

*** P<0.001. Data presented as difference in mean score of QOL between CCS with and without comorbidities (mean score of QOL among CCS without comorbidities). Multiple linear regression, adjusted for influence of sex, age, BMI, education, household income, time after diagnosis.

Abbreviations: AP, appetite loss; BMI, body mass index; CCS, colorectal cancer survivors; CF, cognitive functioning; CO, constipation; DD, digestive diseases; DI, diarrhea; DM, diabetes mellitus; DY, dyspnea; EF, emotional functioning; EORTC QLQ-C30, European Organization for Research and Treatment quality of life version 3 questionnaire; FA, fatigue; FI, financial difficulties; HD, heart and cardiovascular diseases; HPT, hypertension; MD, musculoskeletal diseases; NV, nausea and vomiting; PA, pain; PF, physical functioning; QL, global health; QOL, quality of life; RD, respiratory diseases; RF, role functioning; SF, social functioning; SL, insomnia.