Table 2.
Influencing Factors– Univariate Logistic Regression Analysis
| Variable | N | OR | 95% CI | Result of statistical analysis (p-value) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender (Female, n = 120) | 446 | |||
| Male | 326 | 1.081 | [0.710–1.646] | 0.717 |
| Age group (> 75, n = 66) | 446 | |||
| ≤ 30 | 6 | 0.000 | [0.000–0.000] | . |
| 31–45* | 22 | 0.059 | [0.016–0.224] | < 0.001* |
| 46–65* | 243 | 0.253 | [0.139–0.461] | < 0.001* |
| 66–75* | 109 | 0.426 | [0.221–0.825] | 0.011* |
| Marital status (Single, n = 55) | 436 | |||
| Married* | 298 | 4.221 | [2.099–8.488] | < 0.001* |
| Divorced* | 13 | 3.000 | [1.171–7.684] | 0.022* |
| Widowed* | 35 | 3.778 | [1.482–9.631] | 0.005* |
| Permanent partnership* | 13 | 6.400 | [1.748–23.438] | 0.005* |
| Education level (Academic, n = 48) | 243 | 1.155 | [0.607–2.200] | 0.661 |
| At least one comorbidity (Yes) | 401 | 2.372 | [1.501–3.750] | 0.001* |
| Cardiovascular comorbidity (Yes) | 446 | 1.593 | [1.087–2.334] | 0.017* |
| Pulmonal comorbidity (Yes) | 446 | 1.058 | [0.620–1.804] | 0.836 |
| Neurological comorbidity (Yes) | 446 | 1.232 | [0.673–2.255] | 0.500 |
| Oncological comorbidity (Yes) | 446 | 1.235 | [0.790–1.931] | 0.355 |
| Regular medication (Yes)* | 401 | 2.372 | [1.501–3.750] | < 0.001* |
| Living environment (Living independent at home, n = 357) | 411 | |||
| At home with support | 49 | 1.172 | [0.645–2.130] | 0.603 |
| Care facility | 5 | 0.281 | [0.031–2.541] | 0.259 |
| Religion (Protestant, n = 182) | 413 | |||
| Roman-catholic | 173 | 0.752 | [0.495–1.141] | 0.181 |
| Muslim | 5 | 0.000 | [0.000–0.000] | 0.999 |
| Other religion | 27 | 0.744 | [0.508–2.581] | 0.744 |
| Atheist | 26 | 0.672 | [0.293–1.541] | 0.348 |
| Religiosity (Yes) | 387 | 1.288 | [0.577–2.876] | 0.536 |
| Cancer location (oral cavity & oropharynx, n = 147) | 446 | |||
| Hypopharynx & larynx | 116 | 1.069 | [0.656–1.742] | 0.789 |
| Nose & nasopharynx | 34 | 0.760 | [0.354–1.631] | 0.481 |
| Salivary glands | 61 | 1.446 | [0.794–2.634] | 0.227 |
| Other head and neck cancer entities | 72 | 1.227 | [0.686–2.159] | 0.477 |
| Multi-tier carcinoma | 16 | 0.558 | [0.185–1.686] | 0.301 |
| Secondary malignanciesa (No, n = 360) | 432 | |||
| Yes, synchronous | 18 | 0.827 | [0.321–2.133] | 0.695 |
| Yes, metachronous | 54 | 0.662 | [0.372–1.177] | 0.160 |
| Recurrence of cancer (No, n = 395) | 437 | |||
| Loco-regional recurrence | 39 | 1.003 | [0.519–1.941] | 0.993 |
| Distant metastases | 3 | 0.585 | [0.053–6.506] | 0.663 |
| UICC stadium (Stadium IV, n = 119) | 385 | |||
| 0 | 6 | 0.492 | [0.087–2.787] | 0.423 |
| I | 132 | 0.702 | [0.426–1.157] | 0.165 |
| II | 67 | 0.797 | [0.437–1.454] | 0.460 |
| III | 61 | 0.834 | [0.449–1.549] | 0.566 |
| ECOG performance status (Stadium 0, n = 289) | 386 | |||
| 1 | 74 | 1.255 | [0.753–2.093] | 0.383 |
| 2 | 21 | 2.973 | [1.122–7.880] | 0.028* |
| 3 | 2 | 1.189 | [0.074–19.200] | 0.903 |
| Applied therapy (Surgery, n = 171) | 446 | |||
| Primary surgery plus adjuvant therapy | 198 | 1.168 | [0.775–1.761] | 0.497 |
| Definitive radiochemotherapy | 71 | 0.823 | [0.470–1.442] | 0.457 |
| Salvage surgery | 6 | 0.596 | [0.106–3.342] | 0.556 |
| Time between initial diagnosis and survey period (120+ months, n = 63) | 446 | |||
| 0–12 months | 113 | 1.104 | [0.594–2.051] | 0.754 |
| 13–60 months | 178 | 1.020 | [0.572–1.819] | 0.945 |
| 61–120 months | 92 | 1.250 | [0.657–2.379] | 0.497 |
Reference categories: age group (> 75 years), marital status (single), educational level (non-academic) at least one comorbidity (no), cardiovascular comorbidity (no), Pulmonal comorbidity (no), neurological comorbidity (no), oncological comorbidity (no), regular medication (no), living environment (living independent at home), religion (Protestant), religiosity (no), Cancer location (oral cavity & oropharynx), secondary malignancy (no), recurrence of cancer (no), UICC stadium (IV), ECOG performance status (0), applied therapy (surgery), time between initial diagnosis and survey period (120+ months)
Rows marked with an asterisk (*) indicate the influencing factors that were found to be statistically relevant
N Number of patients, OR Odds ratio, 95% CI 95% confidence interval, p value of significance
aAlso outside the head and neck area