Falls-risk in senior women after radical treatment of breast cancer

Małgorzata Biskup; Stanisław Góźdź; Paweł Macek; Anna Opuchlik; Tomasz Skowronek; Łukasz Polit; Marek Żak

doi:10.5114/ms.2017.68704

eISSN: 2300-6722
ISSN: 1899-1874

Medical Studies/Studia Medyczne

Current issue Archive Manuscripts accepted About the journal Supplements Editorial board Abstracting and indexing Subscription Contact Instructions for authors Publication charge Ethical standards and procedures

Editorial System

Submit your Manuscript

Editorial Policies

Sarajevo Declaration on Integrity and Visibility of Scholarly Publications

2/2017
vol. 33

Send email

Copy url:

abstract:

Original paper

Falls-risk in senior women after radical treatment of breast cancer

Małgorzata Biskup

^{1, 2}

,

Stanisław Góźdź

^{2, 3}

,

Paweł Macek

^{1, 4, 5}

,

Anna Opuchlik

^{1, 6}

,

Tomasz Skowronek

¹

,

Łukasz Polit

⁷

,

Marek Żak

⁸

Department of Rehabilitation, Holy Cross Cancer Centre, Kielce, Poland
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland
Medical Oncology Clinic, Holy Cross Cancer Centre, Kielce, Poland
Department of Epidemiology and Fight Against Cancer, Holy Cross Cancer Centre, Kielce, Poland
Faculty of Medical Sciences, School of Economics, Law and Medical Sciences, Kielce, Poland
Faculty of Physical Education and Tourism, Holy Cross University, Kielce, Poland
NZOZ Medicus S.C., Kielce, Poland
Chair of Clinical Rehabilitation, University of Physical Education, Krakow, Poland

Medical Studies/Studia Medyczne 2017; 33 (2): 110–116

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/ms.2017.68704

Online publish date: 2017/06/30

View full text Get citation

PlumX metrics:

Introduction: It is estimated that 35–40% people over the age of 65 experience at least one fall per year; for those over the age of 80 this increases to 50%, and for residents of institutional care facilities, to 60%.

Aim of the research: To evaluate the functional capacity and susceptibility to falling among women over 60 years of age, who had been treated for breast cancer.

Material and methods: The study group comprised 173 women aged 61–85 years (mean: 68.75 years), all breast cancer survivors treated at the Holy Cross Cancer Centre in Kielce. Functional efficiency was measured using the Senior Fitness Test (SFT), and the falls-risk assessment was carried out using the POMA Tinetti test. An additional questionnaire was used to assess the anxiety associated with falls. The relationship between functional capacity and the falls-risk, and between the amount of medication used and the falls-risk, were also assessed.

Results: In all SFT tests, the women had lower scores compared to the recommended standards. Medium and high falls-risk were reported in 27% of patients. Apart from an increase in falls-risk, the women reported poorer results in all physical fitness tests. An increase in the number of medications taken was associated with lower Tinetti test results.

Conclusions: Women treated for breast cancer were exposed to a high falls-risk. The treatment management applied to women with breast cancer adversely affected their functional capacities. Furthermore, an increase in the amount of medication taken by post-mastectomy women resulted in a still higher exposure to falls-risk. Task-oriented, physical rehabilitation programmes should therefore promptly be introduced to address the problem of falls and resultant fractures among senior post-mastectomy women.

keywords:

Falls-risk in senior women after radical treatment of breast cancer

Małgorzata Biskup 1, 2 , Stanisław Góźdź 2, 3 , Paweł Macek 1, 4, 5 , Anna Opuchlik 1, 6 , Tomasz Skowronek 1 , Łukasz Polit 7 , Marek Żak 8

breast cancer, falls-risk, functional capacity

Małgorzata Biskup

^{1, 2}

,

Stanisław Góźdź

^{2, 3}

,

Paweł Macek

^{1, 4, 5}

,

Anna Opuchlik

^{1, 6}

,

Tomasz Skowronek

¹

,

Łukasz Polit

⁷

,

Marek Żak

⁸