Trait anxiety predicts disease-specific health status in early-stage breast cancer patients.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

The objectives of this study were to examine the differences in health status (HS) of women with breast cancer (BC) at different moments in time, and between women scoring high and not high on trait anxiety, and to identify possible predictors of HS 6 and 12 months after surgery.

METHODS:

Patients (N = 223) completed a trait anxiety questionnaire before diagnosis. Women who received a diagnosis of BC completed a BC-specific HS questionnaire 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after surgery. ANCOVA for repeated measures and multiple regression analysis were used in the analyses.

RESULTS:

Women scoring high on trait anxiety had significant (P < .005) lower Body image, worse Future perspective and Sexual functioning, and more Side-effects than women who did not score high on trait anxiety. At 6 and 12 months after surgery, the same aspects of HS were predicted by higher trait anxiety scores.

CONCLUSIONS:

Higher scores on trait anxiety resulted in worse scores on four HS domains, indicating that there should be more attention for this group of patients, even before treatment starts.

• Authors: Lotje Van Esch, Jan A Roukema, Alida F W Van der Steeg, Jolanda De Vries
• Journal: Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation (Qual Life Res) Vol. 20 Issue 6 Pg. 865-73 (Aug 2011) ISSN: 1573-2649 [Electronic] Netherlands
• PMID: 21203853 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Topics

• Aged
• Anxiety (epidemiology)
• Body Image
• Breast Neoplasms (epidemiology, pathology, psychology, surgery)
• Female
• Health Status
• Humans
• Linear Models
• Middle Aged
• Prospective Studies
• Social Class
• Surveys and Questionnaires