Clusters by Menopausal Symptoms: Asian American Breast Cancer Survivors.
Eun-Ok Im, Wonshik Chee
PMID 34044672WHAT IT FOUND
Asian American breast cancer survivors fell into three menopausal symptom clusters.
The high-symptom cluster was less acculturated, more socially isolated, and had less social support; cancer treatments did not differ.
Key findings
01Among 94 Asian American breast cancer survivors, three clusters were identified: 20.2% had high symptom severity, 53.2% had moderate severity, and 26.6% had low severity.
02The lower-symptom group was more acculturated, less socially isolated, and had higher perceived social support than the higher-symptom group.
03There were no significant differences among clusters in breast cancer stage or type, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgery, hormone therapy, pain management, or symptom management.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 94 women completed the baseline survey, and they had to have internet access and be able to read and write English, Mandarin Chinese, Korean, or Japanese, so they may not represent all Asian American breast cancer survivors. The data were self-reported, which may include social desirability bias. The menopausal symptom measure was derived from a cancer symptom scale, not originally developed for menopausal symptoms. The study used baseline cross-sectional data, so it cannot show that any factor caused a symptom cluster. The sample size and variables were pre-set by the parent study. Missing continuous data were replaced with the mean when less than 20% of a variable was missing.
Declared interests
The supplied publication types list NIH extramural research support. The article text provided does not include a separate funding or conflict-of-interest declaration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that low acculturation, high social isolation, or low social support cause high menopausal symptoms. The data are cross-sectional, and no intervention was tested, so the study describes clusters and associations only.