Factors Associated with Adherence to Complete Decongestion Therapy in Women with Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema

Table 1

Sociodemographic and medical history characteristics (N = 158).

Variable	n	%
Sociodemographic characteristics
Age (year) mean ± SD^1# 52.84 ± 10.64
<45	45	28.5
45∼	70	44.3
60∼	43	27.2
Education level
Junior high school and below	34	21.5
High school/secondary technical school	38	24.1
Junior college	39	24.7
Bachelor’s degree and above	47	29.7
Marital status
Unmarried	3	1.9
Married	141	89.2
Divorced	6	3.8
Widowed	8	5.1
Number of children
0	8	5.1
1	96	60.7
2∼	54	34.2
Employment status
Employed	92	58.2
Unemployed	66	41.8
Family residence
Urban	143	90.5
Rural	15	9.5
Per capita monthly income (Chinese yuan)
<5000	66	41.8
5000∼9999	57	36.1
10000∼	35	22.1
Type of medical expense payment
Own expense	10	6.3
Medical insurance^2#	131	82.9
Public expense	17	10.8
Medical history characteristics
Surgical methods for breast cancer
Mastectomy + axillary lymph node dissection	125	79.1
Mastectomy + sentinel lymph node biopsy	2	1.3
Breast-conserving surgery + axillary lymph node dissection	27	17.1
Breast-conserving surgery + sentinel lymph node biopsy	4	2.5
Whether the operation is combined with radiotherapy/chemotherapy
Yes	139	88.0
No	19	12.0
Course of lymphedema (year)
<1	56	35.4
1∼	25	15.8
2∼	38	24.1
5∼	39	24.7
Total duration of CDT (year)
<1	65	41.1
1∼	29	18.4
2∼	42	26.6
5∼	22	13.9
Maintenance duration of CDT (year)
<1	70	44.3
1∼	31	19.6
2∼	41	26.0
5∼	16	10.1
Location of lymphedema
Left upper limb only	71	44.9
Right upper limb only	75	47.5
Others^3#	12	7.6
Self-perceived lymphedema severity
Mild	81	51.3
Moderate	59	37.3
Severe	18	11.4
Number of lymphedema symptoms
1	46	29.1
2∼3	60	38.0
4∼8	44	27.8
9∼	8	5.1
Whether or not with other diseases
Yes^4#	46	29.1
No	112	70.9
BMI (kg/m^2)^5# mean ± SD 23.60 ± 3.03
<18.5	5	3.2
18.5∼	86	54.4
24.0∼	49	31.0
28.0∼	18	11.4

Note. ^1#SD, standard deviation; ^2#medical insurance includes urban residents’ medical insurance, urban workers’ medical insurance, new rural cooperative medical insurance, and commercial medical insurance; ^3#other locations of lymphedema include breast only, chest wall only, or two or more of left upper limb, right upper limb, breast, and chest wall; ^4#included one or some diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and other chronic diseases; ^5#<18.5 is too light, 18.5∼ is normal, 24.0∼ is overweight, and 28.0∼ is obese.