Impact of patients with esophageal cancer knowing diagnosis on the mental health of their children / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the impact of patients with esophageal cancer knowing diagnosis on the mental health of their children and investigate the factors.Methods 107 family carriers whose parent diagnosed esophageal cancer in General Hospital of Jinan Command were interviewed.Respondents were categorized into two groupsone group was those whose parents knew their diagnosis(Group A,n=45)and the other group was those whose parents did not know(Group B,n=62).The Chinese version of Self-reporting Inventory(SCL-90) was used.Results The scores of 107 children of esophageal cancer patients in depression(1.62±0.30),anxiety(1.78±0.34) and hostility (1.93±0.47) were higher than national norms (P＜0.01).Compared with group A,group B showed a significant higher degree of anxiety((1.89±0.33) vs (1.62±0.33),P＜0.01).In multiple regression analysis,age and the knowledge of esophageal cancer diagnosis had statistically significant difference (P＜ 0.05).Conclusion Patients' knowledge of the esophageal cancer diagnosis contribute to relieving family carers' symptoms of anxiety.