Investigation on postoperative quality of life and analysis of influencing factors among flight personnel with papillary thyroid carcinoma
ZHU Huijuan
LI Feng
WANG Dandan
ZHOU Guangxin
XIAO Li
DU Junjie
CUI Li
GU Guoli
GUAN Haojun
ZHANG Da
Abstract：Objective To compare the differences of quality of life(QoL)among flight personnel undergoing different types of thyroidectomy and to probe into the potential influencing factors.Methods A retrospective analysis was carried out on the clinical data and pathological data of 37 flight personnel.The patients were divided into hemithyroidectomy(HT)group and total thyroidectomy(TT)group according to different surgical procedures.The differences in the scores of the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey(SF-36)and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale Brief Version(WHOQOL-BREF)were investigated and compared between the two groups.Results The incidence rate of hyperthyroidism in the HT group was 38.5%,which was significantly lower than that in the TT group(P=0.028).According to the survey results of SF-36,compared with TT group,there was no statistically significant difference in the scores of QoL in the dimensions of total physical and psychological health between the two groups(P>0.05),yet the HT group exhibited higher scores in the dimensions of vitality and mental health(P<0.05).According to the survey results of WHOQOL-BREF,patients in the HT group demonstrated significantly higher scores than those in the TT group across all dimensions,including physiological domain,psychological domain,social relationships,and environmental domain(P<0.05).Univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that both TT and postoperative 131I therapy were risk factors for WHOQOL-BREF total score,psychological domain,environmental domain,and SF-36 mental health dimension(P<0.05).Specifically,TT was identified as a risk factor for WHOQOL-BREF physiological domain,while postoperative 131I therapy was identified as a risk factor for dimensions of social relationships,SF-36 general health,and vitality(P<0.05).Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that except for a significant impact on WHOQOL-BREF physiological domain in patients(P<0.05),surgical procedures showed no statistically significant effects on other QoL dimensions(P>0.05).After controlling for surgical procedures,postoperative 131I therapy significantly affected the scores of psychological domain,social relationships,environmental domain,and total score dimensions of the WHOQOL-BREF,as well as the scores of vitality and mental health dimensions of the SF-36 scale(P<0.05).Correlation analysis revealed that bilateral thyroid cancer and a relatively large number of lymph node metastases were also significantly associated with reduced QoL(P<0.05).Conclusion TT and postoperative 131I therapy may be risk factors that affect the QoL of flight personnel after papillary thyroid carcinoma surgery.Emphasis should be placed on the rational selection of surgical procedures prior to the operation and the standardization of postoperative 131I therapy,and special attention should be paid to flight personnel with bilateral thyroid cancer and a relatively large number of lymph node metastases.Moreover,it is essential to comprehensively evaluate the benefits and adverse reactions of these patients to avoid any unnecessary negative impacts on the QoL of flight personnel.
Keywords：papillary thyroid carcinomahemithyroidectomytotal thyroidectomyquality of life131I therapyAir Force flight personnel
Publication Date：2026-01-31
Online Publishing Date：2026-08-26(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：7( 86-92 )