Psychological Distress in Breast Cancer Patients during the Italian COVID-19 Pandemic.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 19(18)2022 Sep 11.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2032941
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The emergency caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic exacerbated psychological distress. Our aim was to investigate the impact of breast cancer on patients' lives during the Italian lockdown.METHODS:
Sixty-five female breast cancer patients were studied, assessing the level of psychological distress with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the impact of the cancer diagnosis (Impact of Event Scale-Revised-IES-R). In addition, we compared these data with a matched group of breast cancer patients enrolled in 2019.RESULTS:
Patients enrolled in 2020 had statistically higher levels of anxious symptomatology and higher levels of traumatic symptomatology due to the cancer diagnosis. A mediation analysis was performed to determine how the experience of distress due to COVID-19 negatively impacted the level of anxiety and amplified the impact of the diagnosis with a significant increase in traumatic symptoms.CONCLUSIONS:
Considering the vulnerability of these patients and the serious and novel situation that the healthcare system is currently facing, we would like to point out the importance of structured and organised psychological support for these patients.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
/
Breast Neoplasms
/
Psychological Distress
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Qualitative research
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
Language:
English
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijerph191811433
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