A Clinical Analysis of Phlebolymphedema and Its Relationship with Physical Activity and Disability

Background: The clinical features and epidemiological data about patients with phebolymphedema or lymphedema related to Chronic Venous Disease in Mexico is limited and has been understudied; at the same time, the relationships between its clinical features, physical activity level and disability remained unknown.

Methods: This is a longitudinal cohort study based on the analysis of clinical data of 90 patients gathered between 2021 and 2022. The statistical analysis was carried out using the software SPSS version 25 and GrandhPad Prism 8; a descriptive analysis was developed using measures of central tendency for the variables of a quantitative nature and frequency distribution for those categorical variables. The behavior of the variables was revealed through the Shapiro-Wilk statistic. The mean difference analysis was carried out with the Student’s T for independent samples. To identify the effect of gender, age, and severity of the disease on the study variables, a three-way analysis of variance was obtained with a Sidak comparison analysis. For the associations between qualitative and dichotomous nature variables, the Chi-Square statistic was obtained along with the odds ratio to determine the intensity of the relationships found.

Results: A total of 90 patients were included in the analysis; 71% (64) were female and 29% (26) were male; with a mean age of 62.7 years old (± 30.5). A mean BMI of 33.2, 79.9% (77) of patients reached overweight and obesity ranges. 50% (45) of patients reported disability to perform one or more daily life activities related to the disease’s condition (signs, symptoms, volume). Only 12% (10) of all patients performed at or above the minimum physical activity recommended for their population group, and 88% (80) of patients had no physical activity or performed under the proper population group’s recommendation of minimal physical activity. It was found that the practice of physical activity, the number of compromised segments, the stage of the pathology, and the presence of cardiological and metabolic antecedents provide a statistically significant association with disability. Notable statistical difference among sex as a risk factor was not found. Regarding the BMI, the only differences were observed in the level of severity of the disease, regardless of the presence of any disability (p=0.006), evidencing that the greater the severity, the higher the BMI in both men and women. About physical activity, it is observed that inactivity or minimal practice of physical activity is a risk factor for referred disability (p<0.05), since it is prolonged that the non-practice of physical activity increases by 230% the chances of referring a disability associated to the disease compared to those people who referred to practice minimal or above minimal physical activity; the presence of a cardiological and/or metabolic history is related to an increase of about 150% to 180% of presenting disability compared to patients who do not have these pathologies.

Conclusion: This study shows clinical and epidemiological features of phlebolymphedema and their relationship with the level of physical activity and reported disability of 90 patients. Further studies are needed to improve and broaden the understanding of the clinical characteristics of phlebolymphedema and its correlations.