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Women with lipoedema: a national survey on their health, health-related quality of life, and sense of coherence
Jönköping University, The Jönköping Academy for Improvement of Health and Welfare.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4292-5493
Futurum, Academy for Health and Care, Jönköping County Council, Jönköping, Sweden.
Jönköping University, HHJ, Avdelningen för omvårdnad.
Jönköping University, HHJ, Avdelningen för omvårdnad.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-0848-6098
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2022 (English)In: BMC Women's Health, E-ISSN 1472-6874, Vol. 22, no 1, article id 457Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Background: Lipoedema is a chronic disease in adipose tissue that almost exclusively affects women during periods of hormonal alterations. Its main symptoms include an abnormal accumulation of subcutaneous fat in the buttock, hips, and legs, which is associated with pain, swelling, and easy bruising. Herein, a grading in three stages is used to determine disease progression. Problematically, lipoedema manifestations are often confused with lifestyle-induced obesity, which is why the various health problems among affected women often remain unrecognized. Overall, research on lipoedema is scarce. As such, this study examined the health, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and sense of coherence (SOC) among women with lipoedema. Methods: We conducted a national cross-sectional study using an online survey assessing sociodemographic data, lipoedema characteristics, symptom severity, comorbidities, HRQOL (RAND-36), and SOC (SOC-13). In total, 245 women with lipoedema, recruited from all Lipoedema Association groups in Sweden, participated. Data were compiled with descriptive statistics, and mean differences between groups were analysed by using parametric and non-parametric tests. Results: Moderate and severe leg heaviness, pain, numbness, cold skin, feeling cold, easy bruising, and sleep problems were found to occur in all lipoedema stages. Moreover, almost all participants reported having comorbidities. Worse physical health and most substantial limitations in daily life were reported among women with the most progressive lipoedema (i.e., stage 3). Social and emotional functioning and SOC were found to be, on the other hand, primarily related to respondents’ sociodemographic data and their ages at lipoedema onset. Even though approximately 70% of the women had experienced lipoedema onset before age 30, only three (1.6%) had been diagnosed by a healthcare professional before that age. Conclusion: Having lipoedema is associated with several health problems and a lower HRQOL. In addition, the extent of delay in diagnosis within this sample indicates that many women with lipoedema are often underdiagnosed and are left without support from healthcare. These findings call for the need for greater attention on lipoedema. Moreover, further studies on how women with lipoedema manage their health and symptoms, as well as on their experiences of healthcare services and lipoedema treatments, are needed.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
BioMed Central (BMC) , 2022. Vol. 22, no 1, article id 457
Keywords [en]
Adult, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Lipedema, Pain, Quality of Life, Sense of Coherence, cross-sectional study, human, psychology, Comorbidity, Health, Lipoedema, Surveys and Questionnaires, Women’s Health
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Nursing
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URN: urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-30778DOI: 10.1186/s12905-022-02022-3ISI: 000885304100003PubMedID: 36401222Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85142135945Local ID: GOA;;844540OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hb-30778DiVA, id: diva2:1812180
Available from: 2022-11-29 Created: 2023-11-15 Last updated: 2023-11-15Bibliographically approved

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Nygårdh, Annette

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Falck, JohannaNygårdh, AnnetteJonasson, Lise-LotteMårtensson, Jan
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