Table 1.
Characteristics of 499 HEAL women.
| Characteristics | All women (N = 499) | No lymphedema (N = 362) | Lymphedema symptom-free (N = 40)a | 1 + lymphedema symptoms (N = 97) | P-valueb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | ||
| Race/ethnicity | |||||
| Non-Hispanic White | 272 (55) | 207 (76) | 23 (8) | 42 (15) | |
| African American | 155 (31) | 103 (66) | 6 (4) | 46 (30) | |
| Hispanic | 54 (11) | 36 (67) | 10 (19) | 8 (15) | |
| American Indian, Asian Pacific, other | 18 (4) | 16 (89) | 1 (6) | 1 (6) | 0.0002c |
| Age at 40-month assessment (years) | |||||
| 38–49 | 128 (26) | 83 (65) | 8 (6) | 37 (29) | |
| 50–59 | 215 (43) | 156 (73) | 19 (9) | 40 (19) | |
| 60–69 | 156 (31) | 123 (79) | 13 (8) | 20 (13) | 0.02 |
| Disease stage | |||||
| Localized | 352 (71) | 264 (75) | 29 (8) | 59 (17) | |
| Regional | 147 (29) | 98 (67) | 11 (7) | 38 (26) | 0.06 |
| Surgery type | |||||
| Less than total mastectomy | 320 (64) | 243 (76) | 29 (9) | 48 (15) | |
| Total or modified radical mastectomy | 179 (36) | 119 (66) | 11 (6) | 49 (27) | 0.003c |
| Number of excised lymph nodes | |||||
| 0–9 | 158 (32) | 136 (86) | 7 (4) | 15 (9) | |
| 10–19 | 260 (52) | 172 (66) | 24 (9) | 64 (25) | |
| ≥ 20 | 81 (16) | 54 (67) | 9 (11) | 18 (22) | 0.0002 |
| Radiation therapy | |||||
| No | 172 (34) | 120 (70) | 13 (8) | 39 (23) | |
| Yes | 327 (66) | 242 (74) | 27 (8) | 58 (18) | 0.41 |
| Chemotherapy | |||||
| No | 260 (52) | 203 (78) | 21 (8) | 36 (14) | |
| Yes | 239 (48) | 159 (67) | 19 (8) | 61 (26) | 0.004 |
| Tamoxifen | |||||
| No | 178 (36) | 130 (73) | 14 (8) | 34 (19) | |
| Yes | 321 (64) | 232 (72) | 26 (8) | 63 (20) | 0.98 |
| Marital status at 30-month assessment | |||||
| Married or living with a partner | 291 (58) | 218 (75) | 22 (8) | 51 (18) | |
| Widowed/divorced/separated | 164 (33) | 114 (70) | 14 (9) | 36 (22) | |
| Never married | 34 (7) | 24 (71) | 3 (9) | 7 (21) | 0.79 |
| Missing | 10 (2) | 6 (60) | 1 (10) | 3 (30) | |
| Education | |||||
| High school or less | 128 (26) | 94 (73) | 11 (9) | 23 (18) | |
| Some college | 181 (36) | 129 (71) | 14 (8) | 38 (21) | |
| College graduate | 94 (19) | 63 (67) | 5 (5) | 26 (28) | 0.11 |
| Graduate studies | 96 (19) | 76 (79) | 10 (10) | 10 (10) | |
| Employment status at 30-month assessment | |||||
| Currently working | 323 (65) | 236 (73) | 30 (9) | 57 (18) | |
| Unemployed/not working/ retired/disabled | 165 (33) | 120 (73) | 9 (5) | 36 (22) | 0.22 |
| Missing | 11 (2) | 6 (55) | 1 (9) | 4 (36) | |
| Income at 30-month assessment (US dollars) | |||||
| ≤ 50,000 | 245 (49) | 179 (73) | 18 (7) | 48 (20) | |
| > 50,000 | 214 (43) | 153 (72) | 19 (9) | 42 (20) | 0.83 |
| Missing | 40 (8) | 30 (75) | 3 (8) | 7 (18) | |
| Physical activity at 30-month assessment (MET hours) | |||||
| 0 | 69 (14) | 54 (78) | 3 (4) | 12 (17) | |
| 0.1–8.9 | 209 (42) | 153 (73) | 14 (7) | 42 (20) | |
| ≥ 9 | 209 (42) | 147 (70) | 22 (11) | 40 (19) | 0.42 |
| Missing | 12 (2) | 8 (67) | 1 (8) | 3 (25) | |
| Body mass index at 30-month assessment (kg/m2) | |||||
| < 25 | 173 (35) | 139 (80) | 8 (5) | 26 (15) | |
| 25–29.9 | 134 (27) | 98 (73) | 15 (11) | 21 (16) | |
| ≥ 30 or above | 153 (31) | 98 (64) | 11 (7) | 44 (29) | 0.002 |
| Missing | 39 (8) | 27 (69) | 6 (15) | 6 (15) | |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index | |||||
| 0 | 445 (89) | 321 (72) | 38 (9) | 86 (19) | |
| ≥ 1 | 53 (11) | 40 (75) | 2 (4) | 11 (21) | 0.48 |
| Missing | 1 (0) | 1 (100) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Lymphedema treatmentd | |||||
| Never | 62 (45) | – | 22 (35) | 40 (65) | |
| Ever | 75 (55) | – | 18 (24) | 57 (76) | 0.14 |
| Change in clothing size/style due to lymphedemad | |||||
| No | 99 (72) | – | 33 (33) | 66 (67) | |
| Yes | 38 (28) | – | 7 (18) | 31 (82) | 0.09 |
MET metabolic equivalents of energy expenditure, N number.
aOne of the 98 women reporting current lymphedema at the 40-month assessment did not report any of the lymphedema-related symptoms we queried; this woman is included in the “Lymphedema symptom-free” group.
bP-values are based on Chi-square test without missing values.
cA statistically significant difference was detected based on Chi-square test comparing between women who were lymphedema symptom-free and women with 1 or more lymphedema symptoms (P < 0.05).
dThe proportions are based on 137 women who reported past or current lymphedema.