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. 2025 Jul 8;40(8):959–968. doi: 10.1007/s10654-025-01262-5

Table 3.

Global health, functional, symptom, by time since diagnosis

Characteristics Baseline 6 months 1 year 2 years 3 years 4 years
(N = 2,749) (N = 1,283) (N = 2,449) (N = 2,755) (N = 1,975) (N = 713)
Global health status/quality of life
 Global health status/quality of life 55.62 (21.53) 52.93 (20.82) 59.21 (19.71) 62.23 (19.79) 65.71 (20.45) 68.21 (18.74)
Functional scales
 Physical functioning 84.96 (11.97) 72.42 (18.26) 79.10 (14.14) 81.93 (13.11) 83.91 (12.32) 85.31 (11.59)
 Cognitive functioning 85.47 (15.72) 78.11 (18.26) 78.25 (17.77) 78.31 (18.17) 78.71 (18.00) 79.73 (17.08)
 Emotional functioning 69.26 (22.47) 72.01 (20.30) 74.47 (19.57) 75.50 (19.49) 76.88 (18.94) 77.98 (19.00)
 Social functioning 77.56 (24.16) 68.61 (24.95) 75.59 (23.29) 78.45 (22.89) 81.72 (21.59) 83.90 (21.13)
 Role functioning 91.89 (14.78) 74.51 (23.82) 80.16 (19.71) 82.83 (18.91) 85.35 (17.56) 86.43 (17.33)
Symptoms
 Fatigue 31.13 (20.69) 41.75 (22.50) 36.41 (20.15) 35.41 (19.93) 33.94 (19.81) 32.71 (18.44)
 Nausea and vomiting 5.75 (10.61) 11.99 (15.03) 6.12 (10.60) 5.89 (10.73) 5.05 (9.48) 5.45 (9.90)
 Pain 14.19 (16.80) 27.30 (21.81) 24.81 (19.77) 20.50 (18.56) 17.03 (16.41) 16.67 (15.83)
 Dyspnea 12.92 (19.31) 24.11 (25.63) 15.68 (20.87) 14.06 (19.30) 13.28 (18.67) 13.92 (18.51)
 Insomnia 28.56 (27.58) 41.06 (29.62) 38.64 (29.29) 35.95 (28.39) 34.94 (28.68) 34.05 (27.62)
 Appetite loss 14.73 (20.37) 24.54 (27.97) 14.78 (21.04) 11.60 (19.10) 9.96 (17.75) 9.54 (17.18)
 Constipation 15.34 (22.91) 18.76 (25.84) 16.14 (23.92) 17.58 (24.26) 17.87 (23.91) 18.04 (23.99)
 Diarrhea 11.65 (19.20) 14.86 (22.91) 7.47 (16.00) 6.82 (15.06) 6.78 (14.55) 7.16 (14.54)
 Financial problem 14.77 (23.72) 20.18 (26.50) 16.58 (23.93) 15.05 (22.94) 13.39 (22.00) 13.57 (22.78)
Breast cancer-specific functioning
 Body image 83.00 (19.81) 61.60 (28.40) 68.84 (26.34) 70.78 (25.54) 72.98 (24.35) 73.80 (24.55)
 Sexual functioning 15.74 (19.94) 10.31 (16.82) 12.79 (18.54) 13.44 (19.42) 12.77 (18.83) 14.18 (20.92)
 Sexual enjoyment 26.66 (26.44) 11.18 (19.76) 13.37 (21.42) 14.07 (21.73) 12.90 (20.64) 14.07 (22.48)
 Future perspective 48.62 (30.30) 41.46 (28.52) 45.78 (28.66) 49.51 (27.81) 53.41 (27.12) 54.20 (26.36)
Breast cancer-specific symptoms
 Systemic therapy side effects 17.26 (13.75) 30.01 (19.09) 20.70 (14.45) 21.08 (14.31) 20.06 (14.37) 20.22 (14.13)
 Upset by hair loss 25.03 (29.81) 50.10 (37.07) 38.58 (34.27) 41.31 (33.41) 42.88 (32.36) 42.95 (31.45)
 Arm symptoms 18.77 (19.30) 30.69 (23.63) 31.94 (24.46) 26.63 (22.72) 22.25 (20.19) 20.79 (19.17)
 Breast symptoms 14.40 (16.04) 17.37 (16.03) 21.45 (17.07) 17.10 (14.91) 14.23 (13.68) 12.72 (12.60)
Fear of recurrence 13.51 (7.22) 14.74 (6.81) 14.44 (6.81) 13.83 (6.80) 13.16 (6.79) 12.89 (6.52)
Depression 4.90 (5.00) 5.68 (4.93) 4.75 (4.56) 4.51 (4.49) 4.16 (4.22) 3.90 (4.11)
Menopause symptoms 8.49 (6.97) 12.15 (7.47) 12.09 (7.46) 12.02 (7.51) 11.53 (7.36) 10.98 (7.04)
Nutrition and eating behavior 28.34 (13.39) 25.37 (8.78) 25.82 (8.47) 26.58 (7.60) 27.15 (7.44) 27.79 (6.65)
Financial Toxicity 25.14 (7.62) 25.14 (8.10) 26.17 (7.67) 26.36 (7.83) 26.99 (7.72) 27.40 (7.81)
Cognitive impairment
 Perceived cognitive impairments 63.60 (9.77) 60.64 (11.23) 60.22 (11.36) 59.71 (12.21) 60.31 (11.27) 60.57 (11.20)
 Impact on quality of life 10.94 (4.26) 11.51 (3.97) 11.96 (3.72) 12.12 (3.70) 12.43 (3.60) 12.49 (3.67)
 Comments from others 15.49 (1.42) 15.44 (1.37) 15.40 (1.53) 15.33 (1.65) 15.44 (1.46) 15.54 (1.26)
 Perceived cognitive abilities 18.19 (6.67) 17.09 (5.78) 16.86 (5.94) 16.85 (5.91) 17.35 (5.82) 17.47 (5.76)
Mental adjustment
 Helpless/Hopeless 12.57 (3.84) 12.89 (3.92) 12.55 (3.95) 12.41 (3.88) 12.11 (3.70) 11.95 (3.69)
 Anxious Preoccupation 20.71 (4.98) 19.76 (4.65) 19.13 (4.61) 18.55 (4.69) 18.05 (4.62) 17.70 (4.64)
 Fighting Spirit 11.74 (2.00) 11.77 (1.88) 11.70 (1.93) 11.67 (1.89) 11.67 (1.97) 11.71 (1.98)
 Cognitive Avoidance 10.35 (2.43) 10.28 (2.42) 10.31 (2.38) 10.39 (2.44) 10.42 (2.50) 10.55 (2.45)
 Fatalism 13.96 (2.58) 14.12 (2.48) 14.33 (2.50) 14.41 (2.47) 14.54 (2.58) 14.59 (2.56)

Values are expressed as mean (SD); the unique numbers were 992, 1966, 1805, 1414, and 560 at 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, and 4 years after diagnosis, respectively