Research Article

Changes in Patient-Reported Health Status in Advanced Cancer Patients from a Symptom Management Clinic: A Longitudinal Study Conducted in China

Table 1

Demographic information, medical data, and distribution of EQ-5D-5L dimension responses (% of responses with moderate problems—i.e., Level 3—and above) as a function of various demographic characteristics.

Demographic characteristicsN (%)/M ± SD (N = 156)Mobility N (%)Self-careN (%)Usual activities N (%)Pain/discomfort N (%)Anxiety/Depression N (%)EQ-5D-5L index M (SD)VAS M (SD)

Age (years)56.22 ± 10.898
≤4423 (14.7)6 (26.1)3 (13.0)6 (26.1)9 (39.1)10 (43.5)0.67 (0.33)61.78 (24.34)
45–5964 (41.0)20 (31.3)6 (9.4)17 (26.6)43 (67.2)26 (40.6)0.59 (0.31)56.58 (23.36)
≥6061 (39.1)20 (32.8)9 (14.8)20 (32.8)35 (57.4)17 (27.9)0.63 (0.31)59.10 (21.00)
Missing8 (5.1)
P value0.3550.6160.8180.0600.0720.6060.610
Sex
Male86 (55.1)23 (26.7)8 (9.3)21 (24.4)51 (59.3)28 (32.6)0.65 (0.29)60.26 (20.45)
Female69 (44.2)26 (36.2)12 (17.4)24 (34.8)41 (59.4)29 (42.0)0.58 (0.35)55.48 (23.91)
Missing1 (0.6)
P value0.5290.8150.1930.5270.1480.3780.263
Marital status
Without partner (single, separated, divorced, or widowed)8 (5.1)44 (29.9)19 (12.9)42 (28.6)88 (59.9)55 (37.4)0.61 (0.32)57.98 (22.41)
With spouse147 (94.2)4 (50.0)1 (12.5)3 (37.5)4 (50.0)2 (25.0)0.61 (0.37)60.88 (16.39)
Missing1 (0.6)
P value0.2330.9720.5890.5810.4800.7370.742
Education level
Junior, middle school, and lower49 (31.4)12 (24.5)6 (12.2)11 (22.4)31 (63.3)17 (34.7)0.63 (0.30)57.57 (23.08)
High middle school and special secondary school45 (28.8)15 (33.3)7 (15.6)17 (37.8)26 (57.8)18 (40.0)0.59 (0.35)56.16 (23.91)
Junior college and above61 (39.1)21 (34.4)7 (11.5)17 (27.9)35 (57.4)22 (36.1)0.63 (0.31)60.03 (20.01)
Missing1 (0.6)
P value0.4940.8150.2560.7970.8590.7940.659
Average family income
<5,000 Yuan/month42 (26.9)13 (31.0)5 (11.9)14 (33.3)26 (61.9)19 (45.2)0.60 (0.30)58.67 (20.31)
5,000–10,000 Yuan/month50 (32.1)13 (26.0)7 (14.0)12 (24.0)29 (58.0)15 (30.0)0.65 (0.33)60.36 (22.10)
10,000–15,000 Yuan/month40 (25.6)14 (35.0)4 (10.0)11 (27.5)22 (55.0)11 (27.5)0.63 (0.30)61.55 (21.66)
15000 Yuan/month and above23 (14.7)8 (34.8)4 (17.4)8 (34.8)15 (65.2)12 (52.2)0.53 (0.37)46.35 (23.56)
Missing1 (0.6)
P value0.7940.8500.7060.8520.1080.516
Medical cost coverage
Government-pay/Medical insurance129 (82.7)40 (31.0)15 (11.6)38 (29.5)74 (57.4)45 (34.9)0.63 (0.31)59.17 (22.74)
Self-pay26 (16.7)8 (30.8)5 (19.2)7 (26.9)18 (69.2)12 (46.2)0.55 (0.34)52.96 (18.17)
Missing1 (0.6)
P value0.9810.2930.7960.2630.2780.1610.159
Employment status
Retired54 (34.6)17 (34.5)9 (16.7)19 (35.2)33 (61.1)19 (35.2)0.60 (0.34)59.46 (22.39)
Employed71 (45.5)22 (31.0)5 (7.0)16 (22.5)38 (53.5)20 (28.2)0.66 (0.28)60.20 (22.49)
Without work28 (17.9)9 (32.1)5 (17.9)8 (28.6)20 (71.4)17 (60.7)0.52 (0.36)50.11 (20.03)
Missing3 (91.9)
P value0.9940.1720.2990.2530.1380.107
Cancer site
Breast18 (11.5)7 (38.9)5 (27.8)8 (44.4)9 (50.0)9 (50.0)0.51 (0.44)55.28 (28.44)
Gastric21 (13.5)2 (10.0)1 (5.0)1 (5.0)7 (35.0)5 (25.0)0.78 (0.19)59.05 (19.15)
Oesophageal10 (6.4)4 (36.4)1 (9.1)4 (36.4)8 (72.7)5 (45.5)0.58 (0.31)62.45 (19.86)
Liver12 (7.7)4 (33.3)0 (0)2 (16.7)9 (75.0)3 (33.3)0.67 (0.23)64.75 (19.86)
Lung49 (31.4)17 (34.7)8 (16.3)17 (34.7)34 (69.4)18 (36.7)0.58 (0.30)56.37 (23.14)
Colorectal47 (30.1)15 (32.6)5 (10.9)13 (28.3)26 (56.5)16 (34.8)0.62 (0.33)58.70 (20.55)
P value0.1140.2140.3050.4910.1550.1270.834
Duration of cancer progression (days)
<Half years66 (42.3)20 (30.3)11 (16.7)20 (30.3)39 (59.1)27 (40.9)0.59 (0.35)56.23 (21.86)
Half to less than one year35 (22.4)14 (40.0)3 (8.6)11 (31.4)23 (65.7)14 (40.0)0.59 (0.31)60.97 (18.80)
Longer than one year40 (25.6)12 (30.0)6 (15.0)12 (30.0)24 (60.0)12 (30.0)0.62 (0.29)55.15 (25.27)
Missing15 (9.6)
P value0.3840.3350.7810.8070.3530.8400.404
Oncology therapies
No63 (40.4)21 (33.3)9 (14.3)17 (27.0)44 (69.8)22 (34.9)0.60 (0.32)58.83 (20.86)
Yes91 (58.3)27 (29.7)11 (12.1)28 (30.8)48 (52.7)34 (37.4)0.62 (0.32)57.74 (23.14)
Missing2 (1.3)
P value0.3940.3030.8930.1060.8390.5660.981

NS: Not significant. duration of cancer progression (days): it is the duration between the time when filling out the questionnaires and the time of diagnosis of cancer progression. One-way ANOVA was applied if the homogeneity of variance assumption was satisfied, and the non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis H test was utilised if the homogeneity of variance assumption was not satisfied.