Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Nov 30:11:591771.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.591771. eCollection 2020.

Psychological Distress in a Sample of Inpatients With Mixed Cancer-A Cross-Sectional Study of Routine Clinical Data

Luisa Peters  1 , Jan Brederecke  1 , Anke Franzke  2 , Martina de Zwaan  1 , Tanja Zimmermann  1
Affiliations

Psychological Distress in a Sample of Inpatients With Mixed Cancer-A Cross-Sectional Study of Routine Clinical Data

Luisa Peters et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Background: The diagnosis and treatment of cancer are associated with psychological distress that often leads to a significant reduction in emotional and physical well-being and quality of life. Early detection of psychological distress is therefore important. This study aims to assess the psychological distress of inpatient cancer patients using routine clinical data. Furthermore, variables and problems most strongly associated with psychological distress should be identified.

Materials and methods: N = 1,869 inpatients were investigated (mean age = 60.89 years; 35.94% female) using the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Distress Thermometer and problem checklist to assess distress as well as multiple possible problem areas. Visceral oncological cancer (31.6%) was the most common tumor diagnosis, followed by skin cancer (26.2%) and urological cancer (21.7%).

Results: 65.9% of the sample experienced high levels of distress (Distress Thermometer ≥ 5). Female sex, stage 4 of disease, and visceral and head and neck cancer emerged as risk factors for high distress. A younger age (<65 years) was significantly correlated with higher distress. The most frequently self-reported problems were fears (50.1%), worry (49.9%), and fatigue (49.1%). Patients with all 3 of these problems had 24 times higher risk [odds ratio (OR) = 23.9] for high levels of distress than patients without these problems. Women reported significantly more practical, emotional, and physical problems than men. Younger (<50 years) and middle-aged patients (50-64 years) reported increased levels of practical, family, and emotional problems compared with older patients (≥65 years).

Discussion: Almost two-thirds of the sample reported high levels of distress. The most frequently reported problem areas were emotional and physical problems. These results can help to identify patients with high risk for psychological distress and, therefore, be used to optimize psychosocial and psycho-oncological care for patients with cancer.

Keywords: cancer; distress; distress thermometer; psychosocial; quality of life.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Frequency (%) of distress level measured with the Distress Thermometer in the total sample and for female and male patients.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Frequency (%) of distress level measured with the Distress Thermometer in the age groups (<50, 50–64, and >64 years).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Avis N. E., Levine B., Naughton M. J., Case D. L., Naftalis E., Van Zee K. J. (2012). Explaining age-related differences in depression following breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Breast Cancer Res. Treat. 136 581–591. 10.1007/s10549-012-2277-0 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Baider L., Andritsch B., Uziely B., Goldzweig G., Ever-Hadani P., Hofman G., et al. (2003). Effects of age on coping and psychological distress in women diagnosed with breast cancer: review of literature and analysis of thwo different geographical settings. Crit. Rev. Oncol. Hematol. 46 5–16. 10.1016/s1040-8428(02)00134-8 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Blenkiron P., Brooks A., Dearden R., McVey J. (2014). Use of the distress thermometer to evaluate symptoms, outcome and satisfaction in a specialist psycho-oncology service. Gen. Hosp. Psychiatry 36 607–612. 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2014.06.003 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bray F., Ferlay J., Soerjomataram I., Siegel R. L., Torre L. A., Jemal A. (2018). Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J. Clin. 68 394–424. 10.3322/caac.21492 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brown K. W., Levy A. R., Rosberger Z., Edgar L. (2003). Psychological distress and cancer survival: a follow-up 10 years after diagnosis. Psychos. Med. 65 636–643. 10.1097/01.psy.0000077503.96903.a6 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources