The relation between psychological profiles and quality of life in patients with lung cancer

Abstract

Objective Previous studies in patients with lung cancer examined the association between psychological factors with quality of life (QoL), as well as the association between psychological factors with sociodemographic and medical characteristics. However, knowledge about the impact of combinations of psychological characteristics on QoL is still lacking. Therefore, the current study aimed to identify psychological profiles, covering multiple psychological factors. Additionally, the association between these profiles with QoL and with sociodemographic and medical characteristics was explored. Methods Patients with lung cancer (n = 130, mean age = 68.3 ± 8.6 years; 49% men) completed questionnaires focusing on sociodemographic information, anxiety and depressive symptoms (HADS), coping (COPE-easy), perceived social support (PSSS), and QoL (WHOQOL-BREF). Medical information was extracted from patients' medical records. A step-3 latent profile analysis was performed to identify the psychological profiles. Multinomial logit models were used to explore the medical and sociodemographic correlates of the profiles and the relation with QoL. Results Four psychological profiles were identified as follows: (1) anxious, extensive coping repertoire (33%); (2) depressive, avoidant coping (23%); (3) low emotional symptoms, active/social coping (16%); and (4) low emotional symptoms, limited coping repertoire (29%). QoL in profile 1 (QoL = 6.59) was significantly different from QoL in profile 3 (QoL = 8.11, p = .001) and profile 4 (QoL = 7.40, p = .01). QoL in profile 2 (QoL = 6.43) was significantly different from QoL in profile 3 (QoL = 8.11, p = .003) and profile 4 (QoL = 7.40, p = .02). Regarding QoL, no other significant differences were found. Sociodemographic and medical characteristics were not distinctive for the profiles (all p values > .05). Conclusion Determining psychological profiles of patients with lung cancer in an early stage provides information that may be helpful in aligning care with patients' unique needs, as it will help in more adequately selecting those patients who are in need of psychological screening and/or psychological treatment as compared with determining scores on single psychological factors.

The association of depressive symptoms, personality traits, and sociodemographic factors with health-related quality of life and quality of life in patients with advanced-stage lung cancer: an observational multi-center cohort study

“…Compared to a recent study in Dutch patients with lung cancer, we observed a lower general health/QoL score (i.e., facet score of 7.0 (SD 1.4) versus 5.8 (SD 1.7) in this study) [39]. Probably this is due to the inclusion of solely patients with locally-advanced and metastatic lung cancer in our study whereas the referred study included patients with all stages of lung cancer with stage I and II comprising 45% of the study population.…”

Association between social support and suicidal ideation in patients with cancer: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Moreover, among cancer patients, reduced social interaction may lead to the avoidance of potential stressors. As a result, they may receive lower levels of social support and develop SI (Lee et al., 2014; van Montfort et al., 2019). In particular, there was a strong and significant relationship between family support and SI among patients with cancer.…”

Cognitive appraisal of the disease and stress level in lung cancer patients. The mediating role of coping styles

“…The most recent studies among patients diagnosed with lung cancer indicate that those patients most frequently activate adaptive methods of coping with stress caused by their disease [42]. The task-oriented style is observed predominantly, while avoidant or emotion-oriented styles are less common.…”