Impact of Diabetes on the Symptoms of Breast Cancer Survivors.
Susan Storey, Andrea Cohee, Wambui G Gathirua-Mwangi and 6 others
PMID 31225841WHAT IT FOUND
Breast cancer survivors who also had diabetes reported worse physical function, attention function, sleep disturbance and fatigue.
Depression, anxiety, sexual function and peripheral neuropathy did not differ. This does not prove diabetes caused the symptoms.
Key findings
01Women with breast cancer and diabetes reported poorer physical function, lower attention function, more sleep disturbance and greater fatigue than women without diabetes.
02Depression, anxiety, sexual function and peripheral neuropathy were not significantly different between the two groups.
03Diabetes and BMI did not significantly interact to predict the symptoms.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it can show symptoms and diabetes occurring together, not that diabetes caused the symptoms. Diabetes was self-reported, and the paper could not tell whether it was Type 1 or Type 2. Blood glucose control was not measured, so the analysis could not test whether diabetes severity or control explained symptoms. Some women may have had undiagnosed diabetes, which could underestimate the diabetes group. The sample was mostly Caucasian, married, middle-aged and well-educated, so results may not apply to other groups. Symptoms were measured by questionnaires, not by physical performance, clinical examination or objective sleep testing. This was a secondary analysis of a prior study, not a trial of any treatment or nursing intervention.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest. The supplied publication types list NIH extramural research support, but the article text does not name a funder or say the funder designed the study.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that diabetes caused worse symptoms or that treating diabetes will improve survivorship symptoms. It was a cross-sectional self-report analysis, and the groups differed in age, BMI and income.