Table 1.
Demographic, clinical, and symptom characteristics of older adults with cancer receiving chemotherapy (N=363).
| Characteristics | n (%) or Mean (SD) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic Characteristics | |||
| Age, years; mean (SD) | 71.4 (5.5) | ||
| Age, years; median (range) | 69 (65–90) | ||
| Female gender | 248 (68.3) | ||
| Ethnicity | |||
| White | 289 (80.1) | ||
| Black | 24 (6.6) | ||
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 23 (6.4) | ||
| Hispanic/Mixed/Other | 25 (6.9) | ||
| Education, years; mean (SD) | 16.5 (3.1) | ||
| Married or partnered | 211 (59.1) | ||
| Lives alone | 106 (29.8) | ||
| Currently employed | 78 (21.7) | ||
| Child care responsibilities | 17 (4.8) | ||
| Income | |||
| Less than $30,000 | 75 (23.9) | ||
| $30,000 to <$70,000 | 79 (25.2) | ||
| $70,000 to <$100,000 | 55 (17.5) | ||
| More than $100,000 | 105 (33.4) | ||
| Clinical Characteristics | |||
| Number of comorbidities, mean (SD) | 2.8 (1.5) | ||
| Self-administered Comorbidity Questionnaire score, mean (SD) | 6.2 (3.4) | ||
| Specific comorbidities reported | |||
| Hypertension | 167 (46.0) | ||
| Back pain | 95 (26.2) | ||
| Osteoarthritis | 85 (23.4) | ||
| Lung disease | 73 (20.1) | ||
| Depression | 64 (17.6) | ||
| Diabetes | 52 (14.3) | ||
| Heart disease | 42 (11.6) | ||
| Anemia | 33 (9.1) | ||
| Liver disease | 26 (7.2) | ||
| Ulcer or stomach disease | 16 (4.4) | ||
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 13 (3.6) | ||
| Kidney disease | 7 (1.9) | ||
| Body mass index, kg/m2; mean (SD) | 26.1 (5.3) | ||
| Hemoglobin, gm/dL; mean (SD) | 11.5 (1.4) | ||
| Karnofsky Performance Status score, mean (SD) | 82.6 (12.6) | ||
| Karnofsky Performance Status score, median (range) | 90 (40–100) | ||
| Current or former smoker | 169 (47.5) | ||
| Exercise on a regular basis | 235 (66.2) | ||
| Cancer diagnosis | |||
| Breast | 84 (23.1) | ||
| Gastrointestinal | 119 (32.8) | ||
| Gynecological | 79 (21.8) | ||
| Lung | 81 (22.3) | ||
| Time since cancer diagnosis, years; mean (SD) | 2.9 (5.2) | ||
| Time since cancer diagnosis, years; median (range) | 0.49 (0.06–38.3) | ||
| Any prior cancer treatments | 269 (76.2) | ||
| Number prior cancer treatments, mean (SD) | 1.7 (1.5) | ||
| Chemotherapy MAX2 index, mean (SD) | 0.152 (0.1) | ||
| Chemotherapy cycle length | |||
| 14 days | 124 (34.2) | ||
| 21 days | 200 (55.1) | ||
| 28 days | 39 (10.7) | ||
| Metastatic disease at time of study | 265 (73.6) | ||
| Number of metastatic sites including lymph node involvement, mean (SD) | 1.4 (1.2) | ||
| Number of metastatic sites excluding lymph node involvement, mean (SD) | 0.9 (1.1) | ||
| Symptom Characteristics at Enrollmenta | |||
| Lee Fatigue Scale: morning fatigue score, mean (SD) | 2.6 (2.1) | ||
| Lee Fatigue Scale: evening fatigue score, mean (SD) | 4.8 (2.2) | ||
| Lee Fatigue Scale: morning energy score, mean (SD) | 4.3 (2.5) | ||
| Lee Fatigue Scale: evening energy score, mean (SD) | 3.8 (2.1) | ||
| General Sleep Disturbance Scale score, mean (SD) | 48.7 (18.5) | ||
| Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale score, mean (SD) | 10.9 (9.1) | ||
| Pain present | 242 (67.2) | ||
| State Anxiety score, mean (SD) | 32.0 (12.0) | ||
| Trait Anxiety score, mean (SD) | 33.8 (10.5) | ||
| Attentional Function Index score, mean (SD) | 6.5 (1.8) | ||
Abbreviations: gm/dL, grams per deciliter; kg/m2, kilograms per meters squared; SD, standard deviation.
Clinically meaningful symptom cut-point scores: Lee Fatigue Scale score ≥3.2 for morning fatigue, ≥5.6 for evening fatigue, ≤6.2 for morning energy, ≤3.5 for evening energy;25 General Sleep Disturbance Scale score ≥43;26 Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale score ≥16;27 State Anxiety score ≥32.2; Trait Anxiety score ≥31.8;30 Attentional Function Index score ≤5.29 Higher scores for Lee Fatigue Scale, General Sleep Disturbance Scale, Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale, State Anxiety Scale, and Trait Anxiety Scale indicate higher levels of symptoms. Lower scores on the Attentional Function Index and Lee Energy Scale indicate worse attentional function and lower levels of energy, respectively.