title: Determinants of Quality of Life for Breast Cancer Patients in Shanghai, China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the association of social support status, health insurance and clinical factors with the quality of life of Chinese women with breast cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Information on demographics, clinical characteristics, and social support status was collected from 1,160 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer in Shanghai, China. The Perceived Social Support Scale was used to assess different sources of social support for breast cancer patients. The quality of life was evaluated using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast Cancer that consisted of five domains: breast cancer-specific, emotional, functional, physical, and social & family well-being. Multivariate linear regression models were used to evaluate the associations of demographic variables, clinical characteristics, and social support status with the quality of life measures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Adequate social support from family members, friends and neighbors, and higher scores of Perceived Social Support Scale were associated with significantly improved quality of life of breast cancer patients. Higher household income, medical insurance plans with low copayment, and treatment with traditional Chinese medicine for breast cancer all were associated with higher (better) scores of quality of life measures whereas patients receiving chemotherapy had significantly lower scores of quality of life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Social support and financial aids may significantly improve the quality of life of breast cancer survivors.
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Pudong New Area Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, China.|Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Bei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Pudong New Area Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Li-Ming
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Pudong New Area Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Li-Peng
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Pudong New Area Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.|School of Bioscience and Bioengineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Quan
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Pudong New Area Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Li-Hong
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Pudong New Area Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Pudong New Area Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Pan
authors.initials: XP
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Tang
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Pudong New Area Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Qiao
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.|Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jian-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Yuan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011788:Quality of Life; D012923:Social Class; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology