Health-related quality of life in different stages of breast cancer in Serbia.

OBJECTIVE: Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignant tumor worldwide, and Serbia ranks first in Europe in standardized breast cancer mortality rate. The aim of this research is to estimate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and work productivity among patients in different stages of breast cancer in Serbia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 175 breast cancer patients attending the breast cancer outpatient clinic at the Oncology Institute of Vojvodina between March 2022 and February 2023 were included in the study. Patients were divided into three mutually exclusive groups: (1) First year after primary breast cancer (Group P), (2) Second and following years after primary breast cancer or recurrence (Group S) and (3) Metastatic disease (Group M). The EQ-5D-3L self-classifier was used to estimate the HRQoL, using the EQ-5D-3L index value and visual analog scale (VAS) score. RESULTS: Мean EQ-5D-3L index value was 0.777 for Group P, and 0.768 for Group S. Patients with metastatic disease reported the lowest EQ-5D index value of 0.646 (p < 0.05). Pain/discomfort, as well as anxiety/depression, were the main drivers of the reduction in HRQoL. Patients in Group M also reported the lowest VAS score of 65.4. Furthermore, the highest percentage of women who sought leave or cited breast cancer as the reason for their early retirement were patients with metastatic disease. CONCLUSIONS: HRQoL was most impaired in Group M, and patients with metastatic disease were more likely to take sick leave or retire early due to breast cancer. Delaying or preventing metastatic recurrence could significantly benefit patients' productivity and HRQoL.

Quality of life and mental health of volunteers during COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey in Serbia.

OBJECTIVE: There is a paucity of information on the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on young volunteers. Therefore, the aim of this survey was to examine the QoL and mental health of young volunteers of the Novi Sad Voluntary Service during the COVID-19 pandemic. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional prospective study included 255 members of the Novi Sad Voluntary Service, Serbia. The survey instrument probed into the respondents' demographic characteristics and was followed by the anonymous WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire that measured their quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic and DASS-21 scale. All statistical analyses were carried out using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, vers. 24.0. RESULTS: The study sample consisted of 255 young volunteers (71.4% females, 28.6% males), 62.0% of whom were aged 18-25 years, and 52.2% were students. Lower Physical Capacity scores could be predicted by female gender (p < 0.01) and COVID-19 infection among friends (p < 0.05). Male gender (p < 0.05) and being employed (p < 0.05) predicted greater QoL in the Psychological domain. The only predictor of a lower QoL in the Social Relationships domain was the internet as the main COVID-19-related information source (p < 0.05). On the other hand, being female (p < 0.05) and having COVID-19-positive household members (p = 0.01) predicted lower environment domain scores. For the lower overall DASS-21 score, having COVID-19-positive household members was the only significant predictor (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Mental health support should pursue strategies to improve all domains of QoL, especially for vulnerable sub-groups of the population, such as young females and the unemployed. Bearing in mind the importance of public engagement and community support in pandemic circumstances, as well as generally in public health, these results are relevant for interventions far beyond the current pandemic.