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Is psychological distress in people living with cancer related to the fact of diagnosis, current treatment or level of disability? Findings from a larger Australian study

Banks, Emily; Byles, Julie; Gibson, Richard; Latz, Isabel; Robinson, Ian A; Williamson, Anna B; Jorm, Louisa; Rodgers, Bryan

Description

Objective: To investigate whether the observed elevated levels of psychological distress in cancer survivors relate specifically to aspects of cancer diagnosis, to treatment or to disability. Design, participants and setting: Self-reported questionnaire data on demographic, health and lifestyle factors and mental health from 89 574 Australian men and women aged 45 years or older, sampled from the Medicare database for the 45 and Up Study from 1 February 2006 to 30 April 2008. Logistic...[Show more]

dc.contributor.authorBanks, Emily
dc.contributor.authorByles, Julie
dc.contributor.authorGibson, Richard
dc.contributor.authorLatz, Isabel
dc.contributor.authorRobinson, Ian A
dc.contributor.authorWilliamson, Anna B
dc.contributor.authorJorm, Louisa
dc.contributor.authorRodgers, Bryan
dc.date.accessioned2015-12-08T22:29:42Z
dc.identifier.issn0025-729X
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/34192
dc.description.abstractObjective: To investigate whether the observed elevated levels of psychological distress in cancer survivors relate specifically to aspects of cancer diagnosis, to treatment or to disability. Design, participants and setting: Self-reported questionnaire data on demographic, health and lifestyle factors and mental health from 89 574 Australian men and women aged 45 years or older, sampled from the Medicare database for the 45 and Up Study from 1 February 2006 to 30 April 2008. Logistic regression was used to examine the risk of high levels of psychological distress in relation to cancer diagnosis and disability, adjusting for age, sex, income and education. Main outcome measure: High psychological distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale score ≥ 22). Results: Overall, 7.5% of participants had high levels of psychological distress. Among cancer survivors, the median time since diagnosis was 7.3 years. Compared with people without cancer, the odds ratios (95% CIs) for psychological distress were: 1.17 (1.09-1.26) in people reporting having had any cancer apart from non-melanoma skin cancer; 1.34 (1.08-1.67) in those with cancer diagnosed in the previous year; 1.53 (1.33-1.76) for those reporting treatment for cancer in the previous month and 1.11 (1.03-1.19) for those with cancer but without recent treatment. Using individuals with neither cancer nor disability as the reference group, the adjusted odds ratio (95% CI) for psychological distress was 6.51 (5.95-7.12) in those reporting significant disability but no cancer, 1.14 (1.04-1.24) in those without disability but with cancer and 5.81(4.88-6.91) in those with both cancer and disability. Conclusion: The risk of psychological distress in individuals with cancer relates much more strongly to their level of disability than it does to the cancer diagnosis itself.
dc.publisherAustralasian Medical Association
dc.sourceMedical Journal of Australia
dc.subjectKeywords: adaptive behavior; aged; anxiety; article; Australia; comorbidity; depression; disabled person; epidemiology; female; hospitalization; human; male; middle aged; neoplasm; prevalence; prospective study; psychological aspect; psychological rating scale; qua
dc.titleIs psychological distress in people living with cancer related to the fact of diagnosis, current treatment or level of disability? Findings from a larger Australian study
dc.typeJournal article
local.description.notesImported from ARIES
local.identifier.citationvolume193
dc.date.issued2010
local.identifier.absfor111714 - Mental Health
local.identifier.absfor170106 - Health, Clinical and Counselling Psychology
local.identifier.ariespublicationu4468094xPUB110
local.type.statusPublished Version
local.contributor.affiliationBanks, Emily, College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, ANU
local.contributor.affiliationByles, Julie, University of Newcastle
local.contributor.affiliationGibson, Richard, University of Newcastle
local.contributor.affiliationRodgers, Bryan, College of Arts and Social Sciences, ANU
local.contributor.affiliationLatz, Isabel, College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, ANU
local.contributor.affiliationRobinson, Ian A, University of Newcastle
local.contributor.affiliationWilliamson, Anna B, The Sax Institue
local.contributor.affiliationJorm, Louisa , The Sax Institute
local.description.embargo2037-12-31
local.bibliographicCitation.issue5 SUPPL.
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage62
local.bibliographicCitation.lastpage67
local.identifier.doi.5694/j.1326-5377.2010.tb03931.x
dc.date.updated2020-12-20T07:32:11Z
local.identifier.scopusID2-s2.0-79956308836
local.identifier.thomsonID000281834200006
CollectionsANU Research Publications

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