Marital status and quality of life in patients with esophageal cancer or Barrett's esophagus: the mayo clinic esophageal adenocarcinoma and Barrett's esophagus registry study.

BACKGROUND

Patients with esophageal carcinoma (EC) report deficits in quality of life (QOL), depending on the extent of malignant disease and the goals of treatment at the time of QOL measurement.

AIMS

To quantify the association of marital status and changes in QOL over time in patients with EC and patients with Barrett's esophagus (BE).

METHODS

Eligible patients in the Mayo Clinic Esophageal Adenocarcinoma and Barrett's Esophagus Registry completed QOL assessments at baseline and approximately 1 year later. QOL was determined with a ten-point linear analog self-assessment scale evaluating overall QOL and 12 subscales.

RESULTS

Overall, 489 BE patients and 212 EC patients were evaluated. Married EC patients reported higher baseline QOL in legal concerns (8.1 vs. 7.1; p = .04) and friend and family support (9.3 vs. 8.4; p = .02) than single EC patients. Over time, married EC patients had a decrease in pain frequency QOL compared to single EC patients (-0.9 vs. +0.6; p = .02), with other QOL measures being stable. Married BE patients showed higher social activity QOL at baseline than single BE patients (7.5 vs. 6.9; p = .02); QOL was stable over time between the marital status groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Minor, but statistically significant, changes were reported regarding QOL in two categories at baseline and over time among married and single patients with EC. Minor differences may be present between married and single EC patients regarding spiritual QOL at baseline and in overall physical well-being QOL at baseline and over time, although these differences did not reach statistical significance.