Key result
Among men treated for prostate cancer, 33% reported lowest-quartile scores on ≥3 quality-of-life measures, with poor mental health or energy present in all clusters of ≥3 symptoms.
Observational (n=402)
No
In men treated for prostate cancer, fatigue and emotional distress are frequently clustered with disease-specific symptoms, highlighting the need for comprehensive symptom assessment.
May support holistic QoL screening in prostate cancer survivors; leaves open whether interventions targeting mental health or energy improve clusters.
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To identify symptom clusters that include urinary and erectile dysfunction among men treated for prostate cancer. DESIGN: Secondary data analysis. SETTING: University-affiliated urology clinic. SAMPLE: Data collected on 402 men for a longitudinal prostate cancer quality-of-life study. METHODS: Data were collected from an eight-month time point. Four analytic approaches were applied to determine whether consistent clusters of symptoms were identifiable. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Pain, fatigue, emotional distress, and urinary, sexual, and bowel dysfunction. FINDINGS: Thirty-three percent of patients reported scores on three or more quality-of-life measures falling in the lowest quartile for that measure. Although composition of the clusters was not consistent, poor mental health or poor energy was a component of any cluster made up of three or more symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Using a four-way analytic approach enabled the authors to explore how symptom clusters measuring general and disease-specific quality of life occurred in patients who have been treated for prostate cancer. When clusters occur, fatigue and emotional distress often are included. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Fatigue and emotional distress may be seen together or in combination with prostate cancer-specific symptoms. Nurses should be more alert to the possibility of additional treatment-related symptoms when fatigue or emotional distress is present.
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Maliski et al. (2008) conducted an observational in Prostate cancer (n=402). Treatment for prostate cancer was evaluated on Scores on three or more quality-of-life measures falling in the lowest quartile. Among men treated for prostate cancer, 33% reported lowest-quartile scores on ≥3 quality-of-life measures, with poor mental health or energy present in all clusters of ≥3 symptoms.
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