Table 1.
Participant Characteristics: reported as Mean (SD) or Percentage (number of women)
| + Pain + Lymphedema n = 32 | + Pain − Lymphedema n = 23 | − Pain + Lymphedema n = 42 | − Pain − Lymphedema n = 48 | Overall significance of differences among groups (p) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 56.31 (10.68) | 54.91 (9.91) | 58.12 (9.46) | 55.29 (8.26) | 0.460† |
| Body mass index | 29.35 (7.36) | 25.59 (5.59) | 25.77 (4.61) | 25.38 (4.16) | 0.007† |
| Exercises regularly | 81% (26) | 91% (21) | 83% (35) | 88% (42) | 0.730‡ |
| Currently working | 56% (18) | 52% (12) | 62% (26) | 60% (29) | 0.742‡ |
| Hand dominance R/L/Both | 29/2/1 | 19/4/0 | 38/4/0 | 45/1/2 | 0.248‡ |
| Affected breast R/L | 18/14 | 7/16 | 20/22 | 22/46 | 0.303‡ |
| Type of breast cancer surgery | BCS: 78% (25) Mast: 22% (7) |
BCS: 52% (12) Mast: 48% (11) |
BCS: 50% (21) Mast: 50% (21) |
BCS: 54% (26) Mast: 46% (22) |
0.090‡ |
| Sentinel node biopsy | 69% (22) | 78% (18) | 43% (18) | 75% (36) | 0.004 ‡ |
| Axillary node dissection | 78% (25) | 78% (18) | 93% (38) | 58% (28) | 0.004 ‡ |
| No. of nodes removed | 12.62 (8.69) | 10.48 (6.37) | 14.81 (8.99) | 7.66 (6.32) | < 0.001† |
| Chemotherapy | 72% (23) | 70% (16) | 73% (30) | 67% (32) | 0.918‡ |
| Radiation therapy | 81% (26) | 70% (16) | 79% (33) | 69% (33) | 0.520‡ |
| Radiation to axilla | 28% (9) | 22% (5) | 33% (14) | 17% (8) | 0.302‡ |
| Inter-limb volume difference (ml) | Affected – unaffected 204.05 (253.82) |
Affected –
unaffected −9.01 (85.03) |
Affected – unaffected 252.32 (326.33) |
Affected –
unaffected −7.31 (66.84) |
< 0.001† |
†
One way ANOVA
‡
Chi square