TY - JOUR
T1 - Distress among young adult cancer survivors
T2 - A cohort study
AU - Yanez, Betina
AU - Garcia, Sofia F.
AU - Victorson, David
AU - Salsman, John M.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments The contents of this work were developed under a training grant from the Department of Education, NIDRR grant (H133P080006). This work was also supported by a Psychosocial and Behavioral Research Grant (PSB-08-15) funded by the American Cancer Society-Illinois Division and by a career development award (51K07CA158008-01A1) funded by the National Cancer Institute.
PY - 2013/9
Y1 - 2013/9
N2 - Purpose: Being diagnosed with cancer as a young adult can lead to significant psychological distress and impaired quality of life. Compared to children and older adults diagnosed with cancer, fewer studies have addressed psychological distress among young adult cancer survivors. This study sought to identify the prevalence of, and factors associated with, distress among young adult cancer survivors (ages 18-39). Methods: Young adult cancer survivors (N = 335, mean age = 31.8, women = 68.4 %) were recruited from an online research panel and stratified by cohort (time postactive treatment: 0-12, 13-24, and 25-60 months). Participants completed measures assessing demographic and clinical characteristics, global impact of cancer, cancer-related education and work interruption, and cancer-specific distress using the impact of event scale (IES). Results: The mean score on the IES (M = 31.0, range = 0-75) was above the cut point of 20, suggesting clinically elevated distress. Analysis of covariance revealed significant main effects for cohort, global impact and cancer-related education/work interruption, and an interaction between cohort and cancer-related education/work interruption on distress. Although there was no significant effect of education/work interruption on distress for those in the 0-12 month cohort (p =.88), survivors in the 13-24 and 25-60 month cohorts reporting education/work interruption were significantly more distressed than those not reporting education/work interruption in the respective cohorts (p <.05). Conclusions: Young adult cancer survivors face unique challenges. These data underscore the importance of attending to cancer-related distress beyond the completion of treatment and may help inform targeted interventions to prevent or reduce significant distress and related sequelae in this population.
AB - Purpose: Being diagnosed with cancer as a young adult can lead to significant psychological distress and impaired quality of life. Compared to children and older adults diagnosed with cancer, fewer studies have addressed psychological distress among young adult cancer survivors. This study sought to identify the prevalence of, and factors associated with, distress among young adult cancer survivors (ages 18-39). Methods: Young adult cancer survivors (N = 335, mean age = 31.8, women = 68.4 %) were recruited from an online research panel and stratified by cohort (time postactive treatment: 0-12, 13-24, and 25-60 months). Participants completed measures assessing demographic and clinical characteristics, global impact of cancer, cancer-related education and work interruption, and cancer-specific distress using the impact of event scale (IES). Results: The mean score on the IES (M = 31.0, range = 0-75) was above the cut point of 20, suggesting clinically elevated distress. Analysis of covariance revealed significant main effects for cohort, global impact and cancer-related education/work interruption, and an interaction between cohort and cancer-related education/work interruption on distress. Although there was no significant effect of education/work interruption on distress for those in the 0-12 month cohort (p =.88), survivors in the 13-24 and 25-60 month cohorts reporting education/work interruption were significantly more distressed than those not reporting education/work interruption in the respective cohorts (p <.05). Conclusions: Young adult cancer survivors face unique challenges. These data underscore the importance of attending to cancer-related distress beyond the completion of treatment and may help inform targeted interventions to prevent or reduce significant distress and related sequelae in this population.
KW - Cancer
KW - Distress
KW - Psychosocial
KW - Survivorship
KW - Young adults
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84881224062&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84881224062&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00520-013-1793-8
DO - 10.1007/s00520-013-1793-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 23568764
AN - SCOPUS:84881224062
SN - 0941-4355
VL - 21
SP - 2403
EP - 2408
JO - Supportive Care in Cancer
JF - Supportive Care in Cancer
IS - 9
ER -
