Lymphedema in Mexico: A Clinical and Epidemiological Overview

Abstract

Background: There is insufficient clear epidemiological and clinical knowledge about lymphedema patient’s population in Mexico, this limits its investigation. The objective of this study is to present basic lymphedema epidemiological data and its clinical characteristics based on the analysis of lymphedema patients’ data collected from a specialized rehabilitation clinic in Mexico. Methods: This is a cohort study developed between 2015 and 2021. The study was carried ou in a private clinic specialized in oncological and peripheral vascular patients’ rehabilitation. Clinical assessments and interviews were performed to collect each case’s clinical history, considering its medical characteristics, physical activity and functionality and socio-demographic information, classified in a matrix, and later statistically evaluated. Results: Among 446 lymphedema patients, gender distribution was represented by 81% female and 19% male with a mean age of 50.5 years (±44.5). The population was categorized into the following three different study groups according to diagnosis: Cancer-Related Lymphedema (CRL), Non-Cancer-Related Secondary Lymphedema (NCRSL) and Primary Lymphedema. 60.08% of the patients had CRL; 25.11% had NCRSL and 14.79% had Primary Lymphedema. Among the patients with CRL, 81% of them corresponded to breast cancer diagnosis, the rest were associated to 19 different cancer diagnoses. The most prevalent diagnosis was breast CRL 48.6%; phlebolymphedema 19.4%; congenital and praecox lymphedema 14.1%; lipo-lymphedema 4.8%. The BMI of 64% of the patients ranged in overweight and obesity. 37.6% of patients reported that had experienced pain in limbs affected by lymphedema and 45% of all patients reported some disability to perform one or more activities associated to their limb volume or limb discomfort. 82% of patients had no physical activity or performed less physical activity than what is suggested to their population group’s recommendation. Conclusion: This study stablishes a precedent on reporting the broadest available epidemiological and clinical data of lymphedema in Mexico. Further studies are needed to report with a higher precision the epidemiological, clinical, and demographical data about each etiological group for a better understanding of lymphedema in Mexico and Latin America.