Measured versus Self-reported Physical Function in Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer

Abstract

Introduction/Purpose Childhood cancer survivors (CCS) experience late effects that interfere with physical function. Limitations in physical function can impact CCS abilities to actively participate in daily activities. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the concordance between self-reported physical performance and clinically evaluated physical performance among adult CCS. Methods CCS 18+ years of age and 10+ years from diagnosis who are participants in the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort study responded to the physical function section of the Medical Outcome Survey Short Form (SF36). Measured physical performance was evaluated with the physical performance test (PPT), and the six minute walk test (6MW). Results 1778 individuals (50.8% female) with a median time since diagnosis of 24.9 years (range 10.9-48.2) and a median age of 32.4 years (range 19.1-48.2) completed testing. Limitations in physical performance were self-reported by 14.1% of participants. The accuracy of self-report physical performance was 0.87 when the SF-36 was compared to the 6MW or PPT. Reporting inaccuracies most often involved reporting a physical performance limitation. Poor accuracy was associated with previous diagnosis of a bone or central nervous system tumor, lymphoma, older age, and large body size. Conclusion These results suggest that self-report, using the physical performance sub-scale of the SF-36 correctly identifies CCS who do not have physical performance limitations. In contrast, this same measure is less able to identify individuals who have performance limitations.

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