Quality Of Life Of Community Adult Patients With Thyroid Cancer In Hangzhou,China

Objective:The purpose of this study was to evaluate quality of life among community thyroid cancer survivors in Hangzhou to compare with that of the general population, and to identify the important determinants of QoL.Methods:Communities were randomly selected from 5 districts in Hangzhou. All the thyroid cancer patients who met the criteria in these communities were invited to participate. A self-administered questionnaire including demographic and clinical information, the Chinese version of the SF-36, the Chinese version of EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-H&N35 was completed by each study participants. SPSS for Windows (version 17.0) was used for analyses including descriptive analysis, t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test and stepwise multivariable linear regression analysis. Differences were considered statistically significant at P≤0.05.Results:965 patients were eligible for the analysis. The PCS and MCS scores of the the SF-36 instrument were statistically different between thyroid cancer survivors and the general population. Participants reported highest level of nutritional supplements, weight gain, fatigue and insomnia. Multivariable regression analysis showed that having high school or more education, being employed, higher per capita annual income of the family (24000～56000 Yuan), normal weight, a low dosage of Levothyroxine Sodium Tablets, at least 5 days a week of moderate physical activity were independent predictors of high PCS scores. Male, being employed, more than 56000 Yuan per capita annual income of the family, and at least 5 days a week of moderate physical activity were positively associated with MCS scores. Global health status (QL) was associated with educational attainment, employment status, marital status, per capita annual income of the family, moderate physical activity per week and fruit intake per day.Conclusion:Quality of life of thyroid cancer survivors are comparable to that of the general population, not worse at all. However, thyroid cancer survivors in the communities also experience some health problems, such as weight gain, fatigue and insomnia. Our study also showed that gender, educational attainment, marital status, employment status, BMI, income, physical activity per week, fruit and Levothyroxine Sodium Tablets intake per day, number of surgeries are important correlates of the QoL of thyroid cancer survivors. Awareness of these relevant factors could help health care professionals provide better supportive care.