ABSTRACT
Background: The Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has caused more than 120 million cases and more than 2 million deaths from its inception until March 2021, causing a great social and emotional impact. Our objective is to evaluate the emotional distress on the cancer population after the second wave and to compare it indirectly with the onset of the pandemic. Methods: Observational, cross-sectional, single-center study of 102 Spanish cancer patients recruited between the months of January and March 2021. Patients of any age, with tumors of any location and in any phase of the disease were included. Socioeconomic, health care and psychological variables have been collected, using the Kessler K-10 scale for the assessment of psychological distress. The association analysis of socio-sanitary variables with emotional variables was carried out using the Chi-square test in SPSS v25. Results: In our cohort, 74% of the cases were between 50 and 74 years old. The most represented tumors were breast (26%) followed by colorectal cancer (18%). 51% were retired people and 19% had temporary work disability, while around 6% were unemployed. 15% reported a change in income and around 19% lived alone without companions. Regarding health variables, 11% had presented symptoms associated with SARS CoV2 infection, 21% reported a longer waiting time for diagnostic test or initiation of oncological treatment, and 17% highlighted a shorter attention time by their medical oncologist. In relation to the emotional impact, a statistically significant relationship (p <0.05) was observed between the female sex and greater nervousness, retired people and less nervousness and despair, as well as the delay in health care and greater feeling of uselessness, despair, restlessness and depression, especially if this occurred more than 1 occasion. Conclusions: the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has caused a worsening of the socioeconomic and health conditions of cancer patients, persisting beyond the second pandemic wave. This is causing a chronification of the psychological impact in this population that could be improved with adequate prevention measures and better health care. Legal entity responsible for the study: The authors. Funding: Has not received any funding. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.