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Sexual problems in male vs. female non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivors: prevalence, correlates, and associations with health-related quality of life

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence and factors associated with sexual problems and their relationship to health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in male and female non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) survivors. In this cross-sectional study, 738 NHL survivors (425 men and 313 women; mean time since diagnosis, 6.2 years) in South Korea completed the six-item instrument of adult sexual behavior used by the National Health and Social Life Survey in the United States. HRQOL was measured by two subscales of the EORTC QLQ-C30. Sexual problems were reported by a greater proportion of women (range, 31.9 to 64.4%) than men (range, 23.3 to 49.1%). Among four items common to both sexes, three (lacking interest in sex, unable to achieve orgasm, sex not pleasurable) were significantly more prevalent in women. Significant factors associated with multiple sexual problems in men were older age and being unemployed; in women, they were marital status and comorbidity. Lastly, more significant associations between sexual problems and HRQOL were observed in men than in women. Male and female NHL survivors differ in the prevalence of sexual problems and the factors associated with them as well as their associations with HRQOL. These findings can be used to develop sex-specific interventions to improve sexual function in this population.

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Acknowledgements

This paper was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (grant number 2016R1D1A1B04932171).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Education Center, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea

    Im-Ryung Kim

  2. Department of Nursing, Inha University, 100 Inha-ro, Nam-gu, Incheon, 22212, South Korea

    Soo Hyun Kim & Eunju Choi

  3. Division of Hematology-Oncology, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea

    Oh Nam Ok

  4. Cancer Edu-Info Center, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea

    So Hee Kim

  5. Department of Oncology, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea

    Suyeon Lee

  6. Division of Hematology-Oncology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

    Seok Jin Kim

  7. Department of Oncology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

    Dok Hyun Yoon

  8. Division of Hematology-Oncology, Inha University Hospital and College of Medicine, Incheon, South Korea

    Moon Hee Lee

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  1. Im-Ryung Kim
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  2. Soo Hyun Kim
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Correspondence to Soo Hyun Kim.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Kim, IR., Kim, S.H., Ok, O.N. et al. Sexual problems in male vs. female non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivors: prevalence, correlates, and associations with health-related quality of life. Ann Hematol 96, 739–747 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-017-2940-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-017-2940-y

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