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Course of psychological distress and its predictors in advanced non‐small cell lung cancer patients
Author(s) -
Akechi Tatsuo,
Okuyama Toru,
Akizuki Nobuya,
Azuma Hideki,
Sagawa Ryuichi,
Furukawa Toshiaki A.,
Uchitomi Yosuke
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
psycho‐oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.41
H-Index - 137
eISSN - 1099-1611
pISSN - 1057-9249
DOI - 10.1002/pon.975
Subject(s) - anxiety , distress , lung cancer , anger , depression (economics) , mood , psychological distress , hostility , profile of mood states , clinical psychology , medicine , psychology , psychiatry , economics , macroeconomics
This study investigated longitudinal changes and predictive factors for psychological distress among 85 newly diagnosed advanced non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Whereas tension‐anxiety after diagnosis ( T 1) was significantly reduced at two months ( T 2) and six months ( T 3) after diagnosis and depression‐dejection at T 1 was significantly reduced at T 2, other forms of psychological distress, including anger–hostility, vigor, fatigue, and confusion, did not show significant changes. Total mood disturbance did not show significant change. Only a higher total mood disturbance at T 1 was a significant predictor of total mood disturbance at T 3. These findings demonstrate that most types of psychological distress experienced by advanced NSCLC patients is likely to persist during the subsequent clinical course. The findings also suggest that initial psychological distress itself after cancer diagnosis is the most important predictor for subsequent psychological distress and that early intervention beginning immediately after the disclosure of a diagnosis of cancer is one way to prevent and/or reduce subsequent psychological distress in advanced NSCLC patients. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.