Serious Psychological Distress Prevalent for Long-term Cancer Survivors

Long-term survivors of adult-onset cancer experience significantly more serious psychological distress than the general public, according to a national study of more than 4,000 adult cancer survivors.

Of the 4,636 respondents identified as adult-onset cancer survivors of five or more years, 5.6 percent experienced severe psychological distress (PSD). Karen E. Hoffman, M.D., et al, compared that finding to the 3 percent of 122,220 respondents who were never diagnosed with cancer in “Psychological Distress in Long-term Survivors of Adult-Onset Cancer: Results From a National Study,” published in the July 27, 2009, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The median age for survivors was 50 years at diagnosis and 66 when they were interviewed. Even after adjusting for clinical and sociodemographic variables such as age, gender, race, smoking history and comorbidities, survivors remained significantly more likely to experience SPD, according to the researchers. However, the group most likely to experience severe distress were survivors who were younger, had less than a high school education, were uninsured, had more comorbidities or found it difficult to perform instrumental activities of daily living.

“This study identifies several clinical and sociodemographic factors associated with SPD that may help target high-risk survivors for psychological screening and support,” the authors concluded.

The study can be found at http://archinte.ama-assn.org.