Emotional distress and dysfunctional illness perception are associated with low mental and physical quality of life in Chinese breast cancer patients

Abstract

BackgroundTo evaluate the relationship between quality of life (QOL) and physical as well as psychological variables in Chinese breast cancer patients.MethodsThis multicenter cross-sectional study enrolled 254 Chinese breast cancer patients in different stages and treatment phases. They answered standard instruments assessing QOL (EORTC), somatic symptom severity (PHQ-15), depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), health-related anxiety (WI-7), illness perception (BIPQ), and sense of coherence (SOC-9). Canonical correlation was applied to identify the strongest correlates between the physical, emotional and social QOL scales and the physical and psychological variables.ResultsIn our sample, a low global QOL was significantly associated with the following physical and psychological variables: symptom-related disability (Karnofsky Index) (r = .211, p < .01), somatic symptom severity (r = −.391, p < .001), depression (r = −.488, p < .001), anxiety (r = −.439, p < .001), health-related anxiety (r = −.398, p < .001), dysfunctional illness perception (r = −.411, p < .001), and sense of coherence (r = .371, p < .001). In the canonical correlation analysis, high somatic symptom severity, depression, anxiety, dysfunctional illness perception, and low sense of coherence showed the strongest correlations with low physical, emotional and social functioning. The first three significant canonical correlations between these two sets of variables were .78, .56, and .45.ConclusionsQOL in Chinese breast cancer patients is strongly associated with psychological factors. Our results suggest that Chinese physicians and nurses should incorporate these factors into their care for women with breast cancer to improve patients’ QOL.

Health-related quality of life before and during chemotherapy in patients with early-stage breast cancer

“…This can be explained because body image may be impacted by the patients' perceptions about what others think, thereby affecting person's sense of self-esteem. The global HRQoL, the low social and emotional functioning of BC patients were significantly associated with psychological variables [22]. Thus, it is understood that, in general, the severity of the symptoms is associated with adverse psycho-behavioural characteristics [23].…”

Perceived barriers to psychological treatment in Chinese cancer patients

“…Participants seeking treatment were approached by research nurses. The inclusion criteria were a cancer diagnosis,≥ 18 years old, and being Chinese. The Ethical Committee of Tumor Hospital approved our study (2016‐3).…”

“…Chinese cancer patients have poor prognosis, survival rates, and psychological health status . Untreated psychological symptoms can cause lower physical and mental quality of life . However, only a small number of Chinese patients seek help for psychological problems .…”

“…2 Untreated psychological symptoms can cause lower physical and mental quality of life. 3 However, only a small number of Chinese patients seek help for psychological problems. 4 To increase patients' referral to help, we need to understand barriers to treatment.…”

Client Satisfaction and Quality of Life at Primary Healthcare Clinics and Psychiatric Hospitals in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

“…Prior studies have pointed to these explanations as strongly correlated to patient's satisfaction with favorable outcomes [19] [51].The higher level of satisfaction shown by the study among hospital group more than control group may be influenced by the new changes and recent advances in Saudi mental health system adopted from WHO[3] quality rights and aimed at promoting quality of mental care such as ease of referrals to mental or general hospitals and improvement in detection of undiagnosed mental conditions[12].Certain factors could possibly explain poor overall QOL in our clinical sample. Physical and psychological variables such as comorbidities, distressed mood, and lack of occasional assistance in self-care in clinical population have been found to be significantly associated with poor QOL[52] [53]. For instance, Fu et al[54] reported comorbidities as negatively associated with QOL of chronically ill survivors whereas lower severity in terms of having fewer co-morbid conditions was associated with higher QOL[55].…”