Health-related quality of life of premenopausal young breast cancer survivors undergoing endocrine therapy.

PURPOSE: The incidence of breast cancer in premenopausal women in South Korea is higher compared to the West. This study aimed to identify factors associated with the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among survivors with premenopausal young breast cancer undergoing endocrine therapy by examining the effects of menopausal symptoms, social support, and resilience on HRQoL. METHODS: Cross-sectional study was used to select survivors with breast cancer undergoing endocrine therapy. The study instruments used included a basic information questionnaire, Menopause Rating Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and Health-Related Quality of Life Instrument with 8 items. Researchers utilized independent t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and multiple linear regression to analyze the data. The data were collected from August to September 2021, and the questionnaire was administered via a link posted on a bulletin board of an online breast cancer survivors community. Finally, 133 questionnaires were included in the final analysis. RESULTS: Among 150 participants, 133 completed the questionnaires. HRQoL was higher in the groups with a monthly income of ≥5 million KRW (ß = 0.231, p = .011), fewer menopausal symptoms (ß = -0.399, p < .001), and higher social support (ß = 0.170, p = .038), and lower in the group receiving endocrine therapy and OFS (ß = -0.192, p = .010). The explanatory power for HRQoL of premenopausal young breast cancer survivors undergoing endocrine therapy was 38.3% (F = 10.634, p < .001). CONCLUSION: Breast cancer survivors should be supported to participate in economic activity, utilize rehabilitation and intervention programs to alleviate menopausal symptoms, and benefit from a social support network formed by the hospital, community, and government.

Association Between Fear of Cancer Recurrence, Fatigue, and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Among Breast Cancer Survivors in South Korea.

BACKGROUND: Improving healthy lifestyle behaviors in breast cancer survivors can promote their physical and mental health, thereby reducing the risk of cancer recurrence. Therefore, it is crucial to identify and control the factors affecting healthy lifestyle behaviors among breast cancer survivors. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the effects of physiological, psychological, and situational factors and symptoms on healthy lifestyle behaviors in breast cancer survivors. METHODS: Data were collected from August to September 2021, and a questionnaire was administered through an online breast cancer patient community's bulletin board. Finally, 162 questionnaires were included in the analysis. RESULTS: The model was statistically significant, explaining 33.2% of the variance. A decrease in healthy lifestyle behaviors in breast cancer survivors was influenced by an age of 40 years or younger, 5 years or more since a breast cancer diagnosis, low income, fear of cancer recurrence, and fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: Intervention strategies, such as easily accessible online content that accounts for age and survival period after cancer diagnosis, should be used to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors among breast cancer survivors. Healthcare providers should be given appropriate guidelines on managing patients' fear of cancer recurrence and reducing fatigue to ensure timely access to clinical interventions. Adequate financial support from local communities and governments is needed to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: To improve breast cancer survivors' healthy lifestyle behaviors, an understanding of the influencing factors and a multidimensional approach are required. Nurses play a role in developing and implementing interventions to improve healthy lifestyle behaviors.

Factors contributing to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients' functional performance: Structural equation modelling based on theory of unpleasant symptoms.

AIM: This study aimed to predict the functional performance of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by clarifying the relationship among disease severity, uncertainty, social support, symptom experience, coping, and functional performance. DESIGN: A model-testing design was used. METHODS: The subjects of this study were outpatients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who visited the respiratory clinic of a general hospital in Seoul, Korea. The data were collected using validated instruments from July 2018 to April 2019, of which 202 questionnaires in total were used for data analysis. Collected data were analysed by using IBM SPSS v27.0 and Mplus 8.0. RESULTS: The severity of the disease, uncertainty, and symptom experience should be reduced to improve the functional performance of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Furthermore, reduced uncertainty can improve functional performance by reducing symptom experience. Nursing interventions for the improvement of pulmonary function and reduction of symptom experience should be developed.

Preparation and characterization of bee venom-loaded PLGA particles for sustained release.

Bee venom-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) particles were prepared by double emulsion-solvent evaporation, and characterized for a sustained-release system. Factors such as the type of organic solvent, the amount of bee venom and PLGA, the type of PLGA, the type of polyvinyl alcohol, and the emulsification method were considered. Physicochemical properties, including the encapsulation efficiency, drug loading, particle size, zeta-potential and surface morphology were examined by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The size of the bee venom-loaded PLGA particles was 500 nm (measured using sonication). Zeta-potentials of the bee venom-loaded PLGA particles were negative owing to the PLGA. FT-IR results demonstrated that the bee venom was completely encapsulated in the PLGA particles, indicated by the disappearance of the amine and amide peaks. In addition, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis indicated that the bee venom in the bee venom-loaded PLGA particles was intact. In vitro release of the bee venom from the bee venom-loaded PLGA particles showed a sustained-release profile over 1 month. Bee venom-loaded PLGA particles can help improve patients' quality of life by reducing the number of injections required.