1041 Sleep Quality Mediates The Relationship Between Fear Of Cancer Recurrence And Psychological Distress In Young Adults With Cancer

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Fear of cancer recurrence is common in young adults with cancer and also related to poorer psychological outcomes. Sleep may be disrupted by anxious thoughts about cancer, causing long-term psychological distress. Thus, the current study tests sleep as a putative mediator of the association between fear of cancer recurrence and overall psychological distress in young adult cancer survivors. Methods In a national cross-sectional survey of Canadians, 436 young adults diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 15-39 (current age range 20-39, m=32.39, SD=4.70; 88% female) completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory—Short Form, and the Kessler 10 Distress Inventory. Mediation was estimated using PROCESS. Age, sex, and on/off treatment status were entered into models as covariates. Results In the current sample, average fear of cancer recurrence was above the clinical cut-point (m=22.92, SD=6.84), psychological distress was high (m=25.18, SD=7.81), and sleep quality was poor (m=9.11, SD=3.95). Females reported significantly higher fear of cancer recurrence than males [F(1, 435)=15.49, p <.001]. Patients on treatment reported significantly higher fear of cancer recurrence [F(1,435)=11.43, p=.001], poorer sleep quality [F(1,435)=6.48, p=.011], and greater psychological distress [F(1,435)=4.73, p <.001] than patients off treatment. Using a bootstrapping model with covariates, higher fear of cancer recurrence was related to poorer sleep quality and, in turn, higher psychological distress as indicated by the indirect effect’s confidence interval not containing 0 (indirect effect=.13; 95%CI=0.081, 0.189). Conclusion Sleep quality may play an important role in connecting the common experience of fear of cancer recurrence to psychological distress in young adult cancer survivors. Future longitudinal research is needed to examine this possible mediator of young adult cancer patients’ psychological distress outcomes over time. Support This research was supported by a grant from the Newfoundland and Labrador Support for People and Patient-Oriented Research and Trials (NL-SUPPORT) Unit. Sheila Garland is supported by a Scotiabank New Investigator Award from the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute (BHCRI).