One in two cancer patients is significantly distressed: Prevalence and indicators of distress
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One in two cancer patients is significantly distressed: Prevalence and indicators of distress. / Mehnert, Anja; Hartung, Tim J; Friedrich, Michael; Vehling, Sigrun; Brähler, Elmar; Härter, Martin; Keller, Monika; Schulz, Holger; Wegscheider, Karl; Weis, Joachim; Koch-Gromus, Uwe; Faller, Hermann.
in: PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Jahrgang 27, Nr. 1, 01.2018, S. 75-82.Publikationen: SCORING: Beitrag in Fachzeitschrift/Zeitung › SCORING: Zeitschriftenaufsatz › Forschung › Begutachtung
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TY - JOUR
T1 - One in two cancer patients is significantly distressed: Prevalence and indicators of distress
AU - Mehnert, Anja
AU - Hartung, Tim J
AU - Friedrich, Michael
AU - Vehling, Sigrun
AU - Brähler, Elmar
AU - Härter, Martin
AU - Keller, Monika
AU - Schulz, Holger
AU - Wegscheider, Karl
AU - Weis, Joachim
AU - Koch-Gromus, Uwe
AU - Faller, Hermann
PY - 2018/1
Y1 - 2018/1
N2 - ObjectivePsychological distress is common in cancer patients, and awareness of its indicators is essential. We aimed to assess the prevalence of psychological distress and to identify problems indicative of high distress.MethodsWe used the distress thermometer (DT) and its 34-item problem list to measure psychological distress in 3724 cancer patients (mean age 58 years; 57% women) across major tumor entities, enrolled in an epidemiological multicenter study. To identify distress-related problems, we conducted monothetic analyses.ResultsWe found high levels of psychological distress (DT ≥ 5) in 52% of patients. The most prevalent problems were fatigue (56%), sleep problems (51%), and problems getting around (47%). Sadness, fatigue, and sleep problems were most strongly associated with the presence of other problems. High distress was present in 81.4% of patients reporting all 3 of these problems (DT M = 6.4). When analyzing only the subset of physical problems, fatigue, problems getting around, and indigestion showed the strongest association with the remaining problems and 76.3% of patients with all 3 problems were highly distressed (DT M = 6.1).ConclusionsOur results show a high prevalence of psychological distress in cancer patients, as well as a set of problems that indicate the likely presence of other problems and high distress and can help clinicians identify distressed patients even if no routine distress screening is available.
AB - ObjectivePsychological distress is common in cancer patients, and awareness of its indicators is essential. We aimed to assess the prevalence of psychological distress and to identify problems indicative of high distress.MethodsWe used the distress thermometer (DT) and its 34-item problem list to measure psychological distress in 3724 cancer patients (mean age 58 years; 57% women) across major tumor entities, enrolled in an epidemiological multicenter study. To identify distress-related problems, we conducted monothetic analyses.ResultsWe found high levels of psychological distress (DT ≥ 5) in 52% of patients. The most prevalent problems were fatigue (56%), sleep problems (51%), and problems getting around (47%). Sadness, fatigue, and sleep problems were most strongly associated with the presence of other problems. High distress was present in 81.4% of patients reporting all 3 of these problems (DT M = 6.4). When analyzing only the subset of physical problems, fatigue, problems getting around, and indigestion showed the strongest association with the remaining problems and 76.3% of patients with all 3 problems were highly distressed (DT M = 6.1).ConclusionsOur results show a high prevalence of psychological distress in cancer patients, as well as a set of problems that indicate the likely presence of other problems and high distress and can help clinicians identify distressed patients even if no routine distress screening is available.
U2 - 10.1002/pon.4464
DO - 10.1002/pon.4464
M3 - SCORING: Journal article
VL - 27
SP - 75
EP - 82
JO - PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY
JF - PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY
SN - 1057-9249
IS - 1
ER -