Evaluating the association of self-reported psychological distress and self-rated health on survival times among women with breast cancer in the U.S.

Abstract

Background Psychological distress and self-rated health status may create additional complexities in patients already diagnosed with breast cancer. This study aims to assess the association of self-report-based assessment of psychological distress and self-rated health on survival times among women with breast cancer diagnoses. Methods Seventeen-year data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series—National Health Interview Survey (IPUMS-NHIS) were pooled and analyzed. Women who were aged 30 to 64 years old, with breast cancer diagnosis were selected (n = 2,819). The outcome variable was time to death. The independent variables were self-reported assessment of psychological distress and self-rated health. Psychological distress was defined using the Kessler-6 scale while self-rated health was measured on a 3-point Likert scale: Poor, Fair, and Good-to-Excellent (referred to as good for brevity). We computed unadjusted and adjusted hazard ratios (HR) using Cox-Proportional Hazard regression models with sociodemographic characteristics and measures of health care access used as potential confounders. Significance was set at alpha = 0.05. Results Women with breast cancer assessed as having psychological distress had 46% (Adjusted HR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.02–2.09) increased risks of mortality. Also, women who rated their health as poor or fair had a significantly elevated mortality risk (Poor Health: Adjusted HR: 3.05; 95% CI: 2.61–4.69; Fair Health: Adjusted HR: 1.83; 95% CI: 1.43–2.35) as compared to women with good health status. Conclusions Self-reported psychological distress and fair and poor self-rated health are associated with reduced survival times among women with breast cancer diagnoses.

A Psychological Nursing Intervention for Patients with Breast Cancer on Inflammatory factors, Negative emotions and Quality of Life

“…In the already burdened mental state after the diagnosis of breast cancer, they add to the difficulties due to both therapeutic methods such as mastectomy and chemotherapy, and a series of social and family problems that escalate this condition (14)(15)(16). Moreover, psychological distress (symptoms of depression and anxiety) has been associated with poorer physical function and high mortality risk (17). Approximately 38% of the breast cancer patients in the study were diagnosed with depression and 32% of them with anxiety based on PHQ2 (18) and GAD2 (19) questionnaires.…”

Association between multimorbidity trajectories and incident disability among mid to older age adults: China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study

“…We included the following baseline variables as covariates: age (45–59, 60 + years), sex (male, female), self-rated health (poor, fair, good) [ 30 ], education (no formal education, primary school, middle school or above), body mass index (BMI) (underweight: < 18.5 kg/m 2 , normal: 18.5–22.9 kg/m 2 , overweight: 23.0–27.4 kg/m 2 , obesity: ≥ 27.5 kg/m 2 ), [ 31 ] occupation (agricultural, non-agricultural, unemployed/retired), ever smoking (no, yes), alcohol drinking (no, yes), sleep duration (< 7 h/day, 7–8 h/day, > 8 h/day), marital status (married/cohabitation, single: divorced, separated, widowed, or never married), annual household expenditure (≤ 2800 yuan, 2801–4846 yuan, 4847–8325 yuan, > 8325 yuan), social participation (whether the respondent participated in any social activities), location of residence (rural, urban) and public health insurance status (no, yes).…”

Postoperative Outcomes following a Multidisciplinary Approach to HIV-positive Breast Cancer Patients

“…[18][19][20] This is further compounded by the psychological distress experienced by patients with a BC diagnosis (30-75% of patients). [21][22][23] The combination of disease processes may exacerbate underlying mental illness, which, if left untreated, could impact compliance and follow-up of care. Consultation with a psychiatrist would therefore be warranted in patients with a prior history of psychiatric disease or in patients who develop a need for psychiatric care during their BC course.…”