Miles, Anne and Evans, Ruth and Taylor, S. (2021) Predictors of distress among patients undergoing staging investigations for suspected colorectal and lung cancer. Psychology, Health and Medicine 26 (7), pp. 887-898. ISSN 1354-8506.
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Abstract
People undergoing investigations for suspected cancer face the threat of serious illness while having to undergo a number of investigations before they know their full diagnosis and treatment plan. Although considerable research has examined distress among cancer survivors, little has examined distress during the diagnostic phase. We examined predictors of distress among patients undergoing staging investigations for suspected colorectal or lung cancer among patients prospectively recruited to two multicentre trials comparing WB-MRI with standard scans. Participants completed a questionnaire, administered at trial recruitment, measuring demographic and psychological variables (n=129, 66 colorectal, 63 lung; median age 66.4, range: 31-89). Predictors of distress were analysed using logistic regression. Forty percent of patients reported high distress (a score of 4 or higher on the GHQ-12). High distress was predicted by higher deprivation and greater intolerance of uncertainty (IU) in both unadjusted (low deprivation: OR 0.352, 95% CIs 0.144 to 0.860, p=0.022; IU: OR 1.972, 95% CIs: 1.357 to 2.865, p<0.001) and adjusted analyses (low deprivation: OR 0.243, 95% CIs 0.083 to 0.714, p=0.010; IU: OR 2.231, 95% CIs 1.429 to 3.485, p<0.001). Age, gender, presence of comorbid illness, cancer type, probable knowledge of cancer diagnosis, and a final diagnosis of cancer did not predict high distress. Among patients undergoing staging investigations for suspected lung or colorectal cancer, high distress is common, and the odds of distress are greater among people with high deprivation and higher intolerance to uncertainty. Future research should examine how best to reduce distress in patients undergoing investigations for cancer, particularly among those who find uncertainty difficult to manage.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Psychological Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Anne Miles |
| Date Deposited: | 08 Jan 2021 06:45 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 18:05 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/41436 |
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