Sociodemographic, Clinical, Lifestyle, and Psychological Correlates of Peripheral Neuropathy among 2- to 12-Year Colorectal Cancer Survivors.

BACKGROUND

Peripheral neuropathy (PN) is a debilitating complication among colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors that can become chronic. No large-scale study has yet analyzed correlates in multivariable models. We did multivariable analyses to find correlates of PN.

METHODS

In 1,516 all-stage Dutch CRC survivors, cross-sectional data were collected on sensory, motor, autonomic, and total PN, sociodemographic (age, sex, education, employment, partner), clinical (time since diagnosis, tumor location, stage, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, comorbidities), lifestyle (alcohol, smoking, physical activity, body mass index), psychological factors (anxiety, depression, personality), and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). After multiple imputations, correlates were analyzed with linear regressions and eliminated with backward selection.

RESULTS

CRC survivors (69 years; 42% female) were on average 5 years post-diagnosis, and 28%-65% reported PN. PN was associated with older age, being male (sensory) or female (motor), shorter time since diagnosis, chemotherapy, comorbidities, anxiety, depression, and worse scores on HRQoL domains, and pain, nausea, vomiting, insomnia, constipation, and financial problems.

CONCLUSIONS

In multivariable analyses, PN is affected by receiving chemotherapy, aging, sex, comorbidities, stress-related factors, and HRQoL in CRC survivors. Future PN-related studies can include these factors, and they can be examined in longitudinal studies to gain more knowledge about chronicity and severity of PN.