Impact of Bowel Function, Anxiety and Depression on Quality of Life in Patients with Sphincter-preserving Resection for Rectal Cancer

Abstract

Purpose: This study was a descriptive survey research to identify the impact of bowel function, anxiety and depression on quality of life in patients with rectal cancer who had a sphincter-preserving resection. Methods: Participants were 100 patients who had rectal cancer surgery at W hospital in Korea. Bowel function, anxiety & depression, and quality of life were measured using the BFI (Bowel Function Instrument), HADS (Hospital Anxiety-Depression Scale) and the FACT-C (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Colorectal). Results: The mean scores were 39.81±5.16 for bowel function, 6.15±3.25 for anxiety, 7.24±3.13 for depression, and 72.50±13.27 for quality of life. There were significant negative correlations between quality of life and anxiety (r= -.59, p <.001) and between quality of life and depression (r= -.53, p <.001). But the correlation between quality of life and bowel function was significantly positive (r=.22, p =.025). The influence of the independent variables on the total quality of life was examined using multiple regression analysis. Anxiety (β= -.38, p =.002), bowel function (β= -.25, p =.028) and occupation (β=.16, p =.048) were identified as factors affecting quality of life. The explanation power of this regression model was 44% and it was statistically significant (F=16.53, p <.001). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that in order to improve the bowel function of patients after sphincter-preserving resection for rectal cancer, effective nursing interventions should be developed. As psychological problem such as anxiety and depression can relate to quality of life for these patients, nurses should work on improving the situation by providing continuous emotional nursing.

Psychosocial behaviour reactions, psychosocial needs, anxiety and depression among patients with rectal cancer before and after colostomy surgery: A longitudinal study

“…Therefore, there should be a strong focus on the symptoms of anxiety in the preoperative period. However, the rate of depression in this study was much lower than in other reports (Kwoun & Shin, 2015;Santos, Garcia, Pacheco, Vieira, & Santos, 2014).…”

“…In this study, a high anxiety–depression incidence rate was found before and after surgery; the level of anxiety was higher than the norm in China (Huang et al, ). Compared with the mean anxiety score among patients with sphincter‐preserving resection, the mean anxiety score in this study was higher (Kwoun & Shin, ). The fact of living with a stoma for life and fear of anaesthesia and surgery may be the main reasons for the high anxiety before surgery.…”

Predictors of Quality of Life and Social Support as a Mediator between Defecation Function and Quality of Life among Rectal Cancer Patients

“…This is consistent with a previous report that job type and employment status contributed to healthrelated QoL in cancer survivors [31]. This result is also similar to previous studies that defecation function affects employment status, which in turn influences QoL in rectal cancer patients [6,32]. These findings highlight the importance of employment status for QoL and further research is needed on returning to work after surgery for rectal cancer.…”

Factors Influencing Supportive Care Needs of Colorectal Cancer Survivors

“…Patients particularly showed a high need for spousal support. This finding is similar to findings of a previous study reporting that colorectal cancer survivors with spouse have better QoL [31]. Therefore, it would be necessary to include the spouse or family members when educating colorectal cancer survivors so that they can assist these survivors in dealing with problems.…”