Impact of Bowel Function, Anxiety and Depression on Quality of Life in Patients with Sphincter-preserving Resection for Rectal Cancer

Purpose: This study was a descriptive survey research to identify the impact of bowel function, anxiety and depression on quality of life in patients with rectal cancer who had a sphincter-preserving resection. Methods: Participants were 100 patients who had rectal cancer surgery at W hospital in Korea. Bowel function, anxiety & depression, and quality of life were measured using the BFI (Bowel Function Instrument), HADS (Hospital Anxiety-Depression Scale) and the FACT-C (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Colorectal), Results: The mean scores were 39.81 +/- 5.16 for bowel function, 6.15 +/- 3.25 for anxiety, 7.24 +/- 3.13 for depression, and 72.50 +/- 13.27 for quality of life. There were significant negative correlations between quality of life and anxiety (r= -.59, p<.001) and between quality of life and depression (r= -.53, p<.001). But the correlation between quality of life and bowel function was significantly positive (r=.22, p=.025). The influence of the independent variables on the total quality of life was examined using multiple regression analysis. Anxiety (beta= -.38, p=.002), bowel function (beta= -.25, p=.028) and occupation (beta=.16, p=.048) were identified as factors affecting quality of life. The explanation power of this regression model was 44% and it was statistically significant (F=16.53, p < .001). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that in order to improve the bowel function of patients after sphincter-preserving resection for rectal cancer, effective nursing interventions should be developed. As psychological problem such as anxiety and depression can relate to quality of life for these patients, nurses should work on improving the situation by providing continuous emotional nursing.