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. 2020 Jan 10;7(2):151–160. doi: 10.4103/apjon.apjon_50_19

Table 4.

Associations between health-related quality of life, functional status, and unmet supportive care needs (n=103)

Variables Global health of EORTC QLQ 30 Functional domains of EORTC QLQ C30


Physical Role



Univariate analysis Multivariate analysis Univariate analysis Multivariate analysis Univariate analysis Multivariate analysis






Mean (SD)/correlation P β (SE) P Mean (SD)/correlation P β (SE) P Mean (SD)/correlation P β (SE) P
Sociodemographic variables
 Age −0.14 NS NE NE −0.11 NS NE NE −0.06 NS NE NE
 Gender
  Male (ref) 55.70 (19.90) 73.9 (20.0) 61.6 (24.6)
  Female 56.31 (24.01) 0.752 NE NE 73.7 (19.4) 0.952 NE NE 67.1 (24.7) 0.280 NE NE
 Marital status
Single/widowed/divorced/separated (ref) 64.35 (23.54) 69.6 (20.9) 54.6 (26.7)
 Married 55.69 (20.70) 0.882 NE NE 74.8 (19.5) 0.320 NE NE 65.5 (24.0) 0.090 13.36 (5.41) <0.01
 Ethnicity
  Non-Chinese (Malay/Indian/others) (ref) 52.78 (19.07) 74.3 (19.8) 65.3 (23.7)
  Chinese 57.96 (21.73) 0.420 NE NE 71.1 (19.8) 0.563 NE NE 53.3 (28.3) 0.081 NS NS
Clinical variables
 Cancer stage
  Stage III (ref) 70.51 (15.45) 77.4 (18.2) 60.3 (28.5)
  Stage IV 55.28 (21.47) <0.05 −15.24 (6.19) <0.05 73.3 (20.0) 0.486 NE NE 64.1 (24.2) 0.604 NE NE
 Time since diagnosis
  <1 year (ref) 54.47 (23.07) 75.1 (18.9) 65.2 (24.9)
  ≥1 year 58.57 (17.98) 0.637 NE NE 71.5 (21.3) 0.374 NE NE 60.7 (24.3) 0.377 NE NE
 Surgery
  No (ref) 56.96 (21.85) 72.8 (19.8) 63.3 (24.4)
  Yes 58.33 (19.39) 0.806 NE NE 78.5 (19.1) 0.271 NE NE 64.8 (26.8) 0.818 NE NE
 Systematic treatment
  Chemotherapy only (ref) 56.06 (22.58) 73.1 (18.3) 62.4 (25.0)
  Chemotherapy and radiotherapy 59.23 (19.12) 0.472 NE NE 75.1 (22.3) 0.623 NE NE 65.8 (24.2) 0.506 NE NE
 Number of comorbidities −0.01 NS NE NE −0.260 <0.01 NS NS −0.176 NS NE NE
Functional status
 ECOG PS
  0-1 (ref) 55.89 (21.58) 81.8 (15.8) 71.3 (23.5)
  ≥1 58.89 (21.20) 0.483 NE NE 63.6 (19.7) <0.001 NS NS 53.7 (22.7) <0.001 NS NS
 IADL scores −0.08 NS NE NE 0.581 <0.01 3.84 (0.96) <0.001 0.448 <0.01 4.55 (1.33) <0.01
SCNS SF-34
 Physical and daily living −0.04 NS NE NE −0.571 <0.01 −0.21 (0.10) <0.05 −0.454 <0.01 −0.35 (0.11) <0.01
 Psychological −0.07 NS NE NE −0.581 <0.01 −0.23 (0.10) <0.05 −0.400 <0.01 NS NS
 Sexual −0.08 NS NE NE −0.054 NS NE NE −0.096 NS NE NE
 Patient care −0.05 NS NE NE −0.190 NS NE NE −0.096 NS NE NE
 Health system and information −0.09 NS NE NE −0.184 NS NE NE −0.028 NS NE NE
R2 0.06 0.470 0.320

Sociodemographic variables

 Age −0.06 NS NE NE −0.04 NS NE NE −0.07 NS NE NE
 Gender
  Male (ref) 75.1 (23.6) 87.1 (20.1) 65.4 (24.5)
  Female 75.0 (22.0) 0.979 NE NE 85.1 (20.3) 0.636 NE NE 64.9 (23.8) 0.914 NE NE
 Marital status
Single/widowed/divorced/separated (ref) 74.5 (21.9) 83.3 (18.1) 63.9 (20.8)
 Married 75.2 (23.3) 0.912 NE NE 87.1 (20.8) 0.482 NE NE 65.5 (24.9) 0.800 NE NE
  Ethnicity
 Non-Chinese (Malay/Indian/others) (ref) 75.1 (22.3) 86.7 (19.8) 65.7 (23.1)
 Chinese 75.0 (26.9) 0.988 NE NE 84.4 (24.0) 0.688 NE NE 62.2 (30.5) 0.607 NE NE
Clinical variables
 Cancer stage
  Stage III (ref) 78.9 (22.0) 89.7 (20.0) 71.8 (24.0)
  Stage IV 74.5 (23.1) 0.529 NE NE 85.9 (20.4) 0.529 NE NE 64.3 (24.2) 0.295 NE NE
 Time since diagnosis
  <1 year (ref) 75.8 (22.4) 86.8 (20.2) 66.9 (23.3)
  ≥1 year 73.8 (24.2) 0.690 NE NE 85.7 (20.8) 0.782 NE NE 62.0 (25.7) 0.331 NE NE
 Surgery
  No (ref) 72.6 (23.5) 84.9 (20.7) 63.1 (24.3)
  Yes 86.6 (16.2) 0.018 −10.38 (4.13) <0.05 93.5 (17.3) 0.102 NS NS 75.0 (21.6) 0.058 NS NS
 Systematic treatment
  Chemotherapy only (ref) 75.3 (22.6) 84.8 (21.2) 66.2 (23.9)
  Chemotherapy and radiotherapy 74.8 (23.9) 0.920 NE NE 89.2 (18.5) 0.300 NE NE 63.5 (24.8) 0.596 NE NE
 Number of comorbidities −0.326 <0.01 −4.93 (2.29) <0.05 −0.113 NS NE NE −0.200 <0.05 NS NS
Functional status
 ECOG PS
  0-1 (ref) 83.5 (19.0) 92.8 (13.3) 72.1 (21.3)
  ≥2 64.3 (23.2) <0.001 NS NS 78.2 (24.6) <0.001 NS NS 56.3 (25.0) <0.001 NS NS
 IADL 0.469 <0.01 NS NS 0.452 <0.01 2.65 (1.06) <0.05 0.477 x003C;0.01 3.93 (1.29) <0.01
Unmet supportive care needs
 Physical and daily living −0.546 <0.01 NS NS −0.434 <0.01 NS NS −0.485 <0.01 NS NS
 Psychological −0.700 <0.01 −0.71 (0.08) <0.001 −0.527 <0.01 −0.36 (0.10) <0.001 −0.516 <0.01 −0.43 (0.11) <0.001
 Sexual 0.078 NS NE NE −0.138 NS NE NE −0.002 NS NE NE
 Patient care −0.202 <0.01 NS NS −0.194 <0.05 NS NS −0.091 NS NE NE
 Health system and information −0.167 NS NE NE −0.323 <0.01 −0.29 (0.11) <0.001 −0.178 NS NE NE
R2 0.538 0.369 0.329

β: Regression coefficient; SE: Standard error of the regression coefficient; NE: Not entered into the multivariate regression model; NS: Not significant in the analysis; IADL: Lawton and Brody's index Instrumental Activity of Daily Living; SCNS-SF34: 34-item Supportive Care Needs Survey Short Form; EORTC QLQ C30: European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core-30-item quality of life questionnaire, SD: Standard deviation