Associations of Health-Related Quality of Life and Sleep Disturbance With Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Survivors.
Alexi Vasbinder, Oleg Zaslavsky, Susan R Heckbert and 7 others
PMID 35816026WHAT IT FOUND
Postmenopausal breast cancer survivors with better self-rated physical health were linked with lower risk of later heart disease or stroke.
Each 5-point higher physical health score was linked with 9% lower risk. Mental well-being scores and sleep disturbance scores showed no clear link.
Key findings
01For each 5-point higher physical health-related quality of life score, cardiovascular disease risk was 9% lower.
02Mental health-related quality of life scores and sleep disturbance scores were not associated with cardiovascular disease risk.
03Higher vitality, physical functioning, and general health perception subscale scores were each associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Observational design means residual confounding is possible; it cannot prove that poor physical health-related quality of life caused cardiovascular disease. Of 8,066 eligible survivors, 178 were excluded for prior cardiovascular disease and 5,004 for missing quality-of-life or sleep scores, leaving 2,884 analysed; complete case analysis used 2,686. Health-related quality of life and sleep were often measured a median of 2.3 years after breast cancer diagnosis, so the timing may not reflect the period just after treatment. Cancer treatment data were available only in a subset, and the analysis could not examine chemotherapy type or hormonal therapy. Inflammatory biomarkers were not measured, so inflammation could not be directly assessed. Subscale findings were exploratory and the subscales are highly correlated, so they should not be treated as separate proven predictors. The sleep finding was not significant, and the authors noted a larger sample may be needed to detect a smaller effect.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The supplied publication types indicate research support from NIH and non-U.S. government sources.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 9% lower risk as proof that improving physical health scores prevents cardiovascular events. This was an observational cohort, and the study did not test any treatment.