Edema and Quality of Life in Patients with Lymphedema: Considerations from a Survey before and after Intensive Drainage at Our Clinic

Abstract

With the increasing number of patients with lymphedema, longer life expectancy, and a rise in working patients, quality of life (QOL) has become an essential aspect of treatment. Traditionally, QOL assessments have focused on pre- and post-treatment comparisons. This study aims to investigate the relationship between swelling (measured by limb volume and BMI) and QOL (assessed by the LYMQOL questionnaire) in order to understand patients’ daily QOL. The subjects were patients with secondary lower limb lymphedema who responded to the LYMQOL questionnaire before and after decongestive therapy. Additionally, text mining was applied to the free-text responses of the QOL questionnaire to identify issues not captured by numerical data. Results indicated that patients with unilateral lymphedema had more significant swelling than those with bilateral involvement, and the difference in limb circumference affected the “appearance” domain. In contrast, bilateral cases were associated with lower QOL assessments in the “symptoms” domain. Differences in QOL were also observed between patients age<65 years (mostly working population) and those age≧65 years. Text mining revealed that the main daily challenges related to swelling were difficulties in “putting on and taking off” and “wearing compression stockings for extended periods”. These findings highlight the importance of “Patient adherence” and maintenance of quality of life.