Impact of hormone therapy side effects on health-related quality of life, distress, and well-being of breast cancer survivors.

To explore the modulatory role of Adjuvant Hormone Therapy (AHT) on health-related quality of life (QoL), subjective well-being and distress prevalence in Breast Cancer (BC) survivors, considering the survival phase. Cross-sectional study with control group. 616 BC survivors participated. Examination of interaction effect between AHT and time since end of primary treatment showed that many of the positive changes observed through the survival phases were experienced exclusively by survivors without AHT. When AHT was not prescribed, longer time elapsed was associated with a decrease in distress prevalence and an improvement in subjective well-being and QoL. It seems there is a turning point around the fifth year after finalization of primary treatment, from which the survivors without AHT significantly improve in several areas and those with AHT do so to a lesser extent. It is expected that the improvement in QoL throughout the different survival phases will have a significant impact on the adherence and maintenance of AHT and, consequently, the likelihood of survival. Thus, AHT side-effects should be routinely assessed by health care providers to gain accurate knowledge that allows improving the QoL of BC survivors.

Consumo de tabaco en población universitaria de Valencia / Tobacco consumption in a University of Valencia population

Objetivos. El objetivo del presente estudio es conocer la prevalencia de tabaquismo en estudiantes de la Universidad de Valencia, con una posible influencia y repercusión social posterior en el ámbito de la salud, la educación y la comunicación. Se evalúa también el impacto de la Ley de medidas sanitarias frente al tabaquismo (Ley 28/2005) en los últimos 4 años. Métodos. Administramos un cuestionario anónimo a una muestra representativa de estudiantes de distintas facultades de la Universidad de Valencia a lo largo de 4 años (2006-2009). Las variables de estudio son: edad, sexo, facultad, consumo de tabaco, cigarrillos/día e influencia de la ley. Se recogieron un total de 10.233 encuestas. Resultados. En el 2006 (N = 2.354) el 20,86 % dice ser fumador; en el 2007 (N = 2.315) el 23,11 %; en el 2008 (N = 2.386), el 24,43 % y en el 2009 (N = 3.178) el 24,83 %. Además, en el 2009 un 90,76 % de los exfumadores afirmaba que la ley había influido poco o nada en la decisión de dejar de fumar. Conclusiones. El nivel global de prevalencia de consumo no sólo no ha disminuido con la entrada en vigor de la ley, sino que ha aumentado con el paso de los años, tanto en fumadores ocasionales como en fumadores diarios. Por último, y en cuanto a la variable sexo se refiere, hay mayor número de mujeres fumadoras que de hombres, coincidiendo con las tendencias anunciadas en diferentes estudios referentes al cambio en el perfil del fumador(AU)

Objective. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of smoking among students at the University of Valencia, and any possible future social influence or repercussions in the fields of health, education and communications sciences. It also assesses the impact of the law of health measures against smoking (Law 28/2005) in the last four years. Methods. An anonymous questionnaire was administered to a representative sample of students from various faculties of the University of Valencia over a period of four years (2006-2009). The study variables included age, sex, faculty, tobacco consumption, cigarettes/day and influence of the law. A total of 10.233 surveys were collected. Results. In 2006 (N = 2,354) 20.86 % were smokers, in 2007 (N = 2,315) 23.11 %, in 2008 (N = 2,386) 24.43 %, and in 2009 (N = 3,178) 24.83 %. In addition, in 2009, 90.76 % of former smokers said that the law had played little or no part in the decision to quit. Conclusions. Rather than diminish, the overall level of tobacco use has increased since the new law came into effect, both in occasional and daily smokers. Finally, regarding sex, there are more women smokers than men, coinciding with the trends in reported various studies on the changing profile of smokers(AU)