Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Breast Cancer and Lymphedema Symptom Experience Index in Bengali.
Vincent Singh Paramanandam, Elizabeth Dylke, Mei R Fu and 4 others
PMID 40579999WHAT IT FOUND
Bengali-speaking breast cancer survivors could use a translated questionnaire to report arm symptoms, distress, and limited movement.
Most found it relevant and understandable, but repeat scores were unreliable and lymphedema detection was only fair.
Key findings
01Most women said the Bengali questionnaire was relevant, understandable, and comprehensive.
02The two subscales scored consistently across items, but repeat testing in 10 women was unreliable overall.
03Counting more than 7 symptoms detected lymphedema only fairly against arm-volume criteria.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only 10 women repeated the questionnaire after one week, so stability over time is unclear. The study was done at a Mumbai cancer hospital for Bengali-speaking women, and travel distance may have prevented follow-up. Only 47 women had lymphedema, so known-group and screening findings were inconclusive. Two of 170 recruited women were excluded because more than half their data were missing. The factor structure was found using exploratory analysis and item removal, and needs confirmation in another Bengali sample.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. One author was supported by a University of Sydney International Scholarship, and one author's current postdoctoral fellowship is co-funded by Macquarie University and ImpediMed Limited.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use a symptom count above 7 as a standalone lymphedema diagnosis. The screening accuracy was only fair (area under the curve 0.7), and repeat scores over one week were unreliable overall (ICC 0.46).