Table 1. Demographic and clinical characteristics (n=355) (18).
| Variables | Total (n=355), n (%) | Lymphedema (n=208), n (%) | Non-lymphedema (n=147), n (%) | χ2 | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 10.079 | 0.006 | |||
| 21–39 | 37 (10.4) | 30 (14.4) | 7 (4.8) | ||
| 40–59 | 188 (53.0) | 100 (48.1) | 88 (60.0) | ||
| 60–80 | 130 (36.6) | 78 (37.5) | 52 (35.4) | ||
| Education | 4.211 | 0.378 | |||
| High school or below | 37 (10.4) | 18 (8.7) | 19 (12.9) | ||
| Technical school | 16 (4.5) | 10 (4.8) | 6 (4.1) | ||
| Partial college | 65 (18.3) | 44 (21.2) | 21 (14.3) | ||
| College graduate | 117 (33.0) | 69 (33.2) | 48 (32.7) | ||
| Graduate degree | 120 (33.8) | 67 (32.2) | 53 (36.1) | ||
| Marital status | 8.209 | 0.084 | |||
| Married | 252 (71.0) | 140 (67.3) | 112 (76.2) | ||
| Partnered | 17 (4.8) | 8 (3.8) | 9 (6.1) | ||
| Divorced or no partner | 42 (11.8) | 26 (12.5) | 16 (10.9) | ||
| Widowed | 31 (8.7) | 23 (11.1) | 8 (5.4) | ||
| Single or never partnered | 13 (3.7) | 11 (5.3) | 2 (1.4) | ||
| Employment status | 2.051 | 0.152 | |||
| No | 156 (43.9) | 98 (47.1) | 58 (39.5) | ||
| Yes | 199 (56.1) | 110 (52.9) | 89 (60.5) | ||
| Ethnicity | 6.329 | 0.176 | |||
| Asian | 2 (0.6) | 1 (0.5) | 1 (0.7) | ||
| African American or Black | 5 (1.4) | 4 (1.9) | 1 (0.7) | ||
| White | 324 (91.3) | 190 (91.3) | 134 (91.2) | ||
| Hispanic | 5 (1.4) | 1 (0.5) | 4 (2.7) | ||
| Mixed | 19 (5.4) | 12 (5.8) | 7 (4.8) | ||
| Location of breast cancer | 0.232 | 0.89 | |||
| Left | 159 (44.8) | 91 (43.8) | 68 (46.3) | ||
| Right | 162 (45.6) | 97 (46.6) | 65 (44.2) | ||
| Both side | 34 (9.6) | 20 (9.6) | 14 (9.5) | ||
| Lymph nodes procedures | 32.287 | <0.001 | |||
| None | 10 (2.8) | 4 (1.9) | 6 (4.1) | ||
| SLNB* | 116 (32.7) | 45 (21.6) | 71 (48.3) | ||
| ALND* | 95 (26.8) | 65 (31.2) | 30 (20.4) | ||
| Both SLNB & ALND | 134 (37.7) | 94 (45.2) | 40 (27.2) | ||
| Chemotherapy | 8.577 | 0.035 | |||
| None | 122 (34.4) | 59 (28.4) | 63 (42.9) | ||
| Prior to surgery | 44 (12.4) | 28 (13.5) | 16 (10.9) | ||
| Post-surgery | 179 (50.4) | 113 (54.3) | 66 (44.9) | ||
| Prior & post surgery | 10 (2.8) | 8 (3.8) | 2 (1.4) | ||
| Radiation | 21.245 | <0.001 | |||
| None | 191 (53.8) | 92 (44.2) | 99 (67.3) | ||
| Yes | 164 (46.2) | 116 (55.8) | 48 (32.7) | ||
| Current BMI (mean± SD) | 28.19±17.59 | 27.95±5.70 | 26.55±5.45 | 0.055 (t/z) | 0.815 |
| BMI prior to cancer surgery (mean ± SD) | 26.70±5.80 | 27.29±5.99 | 26.06±5.28 | 0.928 (t/z) | 0.336 |
SLNB, sentinel lymph nodes biopsy; ALND, axillary lymph nodes dissection; BMI, body mass index; SD, standard deviation.