Table 4.
Demographic and clinical characteristics by symptom risk classes at 8 weeks post-surgery
| Low symptom class | Moderate symptom class | Severe symptom class | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | ||
| Age | 53.32 (10.33) | 48.89 (10.76) | 55.13 (12.73) | 0.0394 a |
| Weight (pounds) | 161.43 (36.27) | 147.52 (27.70) B | 176.70 (40.33) B | 0.0035 a |
| BMI | 28.47 (6.47) A | 25.08 (4.71) AB | 30.82 (6.89) B | 0.0005 a |
| Education | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | 0.199b |
| Associates degree or less | 23 (34.85%) | 12 (26.09%) | 10 (41.67%) | |
| Bachelor’s degree | 33 (50.00%) | 19 (41.30%) | 10 (41.67%) | |
| Graduate degree | 10(15.15%) | 15 (32.61%) | 4 (16.67%) | |
| Marital status | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | 0.871 b |
| Married/partnered | 37 (56.06%) | 30 (65.22%) | 13 (54.17%) | |
| Divorced/widowed | 10(15.15%) | 6 (13.04%) | 4 (16.67%) | |
| Single, never partnered | 19 (28.79%) | 10 (21.74%) | 7 (29.17%) | |
| Ethnicity | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | 0.719b |
| Black/African American | 12(18.18%) | 11 (23.91%) | 4 (16.67%) | |
| White Non-Hispanic | 43 (65.15%) | 26 (56.52%) | 13 (54.17%) | |
| Asian | 6 (9.09%) | 5 (10.87%) | 2 (8.33%) | |
| Hispanic/Latino | 4 (6.06%) | 4 (8.70%) | 4 (16.67%) | |
| Other | 1 (1.52%) | 0 (0.00%) | 1 (4.17%) | |
| Employment | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | 0.206 b |
| Unemployed | 9 (13.64%) | 7 (15.22%) | 7 (29.17%) | |
| Employed | 57 (86.36%) | 39 (84.78%) | 17 (70.83%) | |
| Surgery | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | 0.002 b |
| Mastectomy | 4 (6.06%) | 7 (15.22%) | 4 (16.67%) | |
| Lumpectomy | 42 (63.64%) | 12 (26.09%) | 12 (50.00%) | |
| Breast reconstruction | 20 (30.30%) | 27 (58.70%) | 8 (33.33%) | |
| Lymph nodes removed | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | |
| Nodes removed | 2.72 (2.08) | 4.28 (4.08) | 3.54 (3.10) | 0.0668 a |
| Median (IQR) | Median (IQR) | Median (IQR) | ||
| Nodes removed | 2.00 (1.00–3.00) A | 4.00 (2.00–5.00) A | 2.00 (2.00–5.00) | 0.0368 c |
| n = 29 | n = 31 | n = 15 | ||
| Chemotherapy | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | 0.180b |
| Neoadjuvant | 5 (17.24%) | 11 (35.48%) | 6 (40.00%) | |
| Adjuvant | 24 (82.76%) | 20 (64.52%) | 9 (60.00%) | |
| Radiation | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | 0.652 b |
| No | 17 (28.33%) | 15 (34.88%) | 6 (25.00%) | |
| Yes | 43 (71.67%) | 28 (65.12%) | 18 (75.00%) | |
| Cording at 8 weeks post-surgery | 12(18.18%) | 27 (62.79%) | 16 (66.67%) | <0.001 |
| Infections during the time of the study | 12(18.18%) | 4 (9.30%) | 9 (37.50%) | 0.018 |
| Infections at 12 months post-surgery | 6 (9.23%) | 4 (8.7%) | 9 (39.13%) | 0.001 |
| Physical therapy for limb mobility at 12 months post-surgery | 18 (34.62%) | 19 (61.29%) | 14 (77.78%) | 0.002 |
| Moderate physical activity 2–3 times/week | 32 (50.00%) | 36 (78.26%) | 12 (50.00%) | 0.007 |
A, B, C, statistical pairwise differences between the three symptom risk classes with a Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons at the 5% alpha level
a
ANOVA
b
Pearson Chi-square
c
Kruskal-Wallis test
d
SD, standard deviation
e
IQR, interquartile range