Stress and Depressive Symptoms in Cancer Survivors and Their Family Members: Korea Community Health Survey, 2012.

Mi Han

doi:10.3390/ijerph14090999

Abstract

This study examined the prevalence of perceived stress and depressive symptoms in cancer survivors and their family members compared with subjects without cancer and without family members with cancer. The subjects of this cross-sectional study were adults ≥19 years old who participated in the 2012 Korea Community Health Survey. Stress and depressive symptoms in cancer survivors and their family members were assessed and compared to symptoms in control groups by chi-square tests and multiple logistic regression analyses. Of the 6783 cancer survivors, 26.9% and 8.7% reported having stress and depressive symptoms, respectively, and 27.7% and 5.9% of family members of cancer survivors reported having stress and depressive symptoms, respectively. Cancer survivors showed higher adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for stress (aOR = 1.26, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.16–1.37) and depressive symptoms (aOR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.57–2.11) than subjects without cancer history. Family members of cancer survivors showed a higher OR for stress and depressive symptoms than subjects without a family member who survived cancer. Cancer survivors and family members of cancer survivors had more stress and depressive symptoms than controls. Careful management for cancer patients and their family members should include screening for stress and depression to improve mental health associated with cancer survivorship.

Highlights

About 14.1 million new cancer cases and 8.2 million cancer-associated deaths occurred worldwide in 2012, and the occurrence of cancer is steadily increasing [1]
Cancer survivors were more likely to have stress and depressive symptoms compared with controls
Cancer survivors have a high incidence of stress and depressive symptoms compared with controls, which are risk factors for suicide in cancer survivors [16]

Summary

Introduction

About 14.1 million new cancer cases and 8.2 million cancer-associated deaths occurred worldwide in 2012, and the occurrence of cancer is steadily increasing [1]. Cancer and cancer treatments can result in significant physical and emotional morbidity, and several epidemiological studies indicate that the risk of poor mental health is elevated in cancer patients compared with the general population [3,4,5,6,7]. Cancer patients experience several stressors and suffer from depression [8,9]. Depression is the most important risk factor for suicide [10,11,12]. Subjects with a history of cancer had a higher odds ratio (OR) for attempted suicide in both genders using the Third US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [4]. Understanding the prevalence and correlation of stress and depression with cancer is crucial for the management and control of mental health

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Discussion

Conclusion