The study covered in this summary was published on medRxiv as a preprint and has not yet been peer reviewed.
Key Takeaway
The COVID-19 pandemic did not appear to directly impact the psychological well-being of patients with cancer, after considering socioeconomic status. Only income had a significant impact on patients’ psychological distress.
Why This Matters
The findings suggest that poverty is the most important risk factor for psychological distress among patients with cancer and outweighs the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Study Design
Researchers screened 1329 patients with cancer for symptoms of anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress, and fatigue between 2018 and 2022, using a questionnaire.
The sample included 636 patients in the reference timeframe before the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2018 to February 2020), and 693 within the first 2 years of the pandemic years (March 2020 to June 2022).
Standardized assessment instruments were used assess and score symptoms of depression, anxiety, fatigue, and posttraumatic stress. The tools included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Post-Traumatic Symptom Scale, and a visual analog scale to assess fatigue.
Researchers looked at income in three categories of net monthly household income — below 1300 euros, 1300-2200 euros, and more than 2200 euros.
Data were collected at Vienna General Hospital, and income was based on poverty thresholds in Austria.
Key Results
The pandemic had no impact on psychological distress after accounting for socioeconomic factors.
Lower income was the most significant predictor of psychological distress and was independent of the pandemic.
As determined by post-hoc analyses of variance (ANOVAs), patients with the lowest income level showed a significantly higher psychological symptom burden in all categories assessed (anxiety, depression, fatigue, and posttraumatic stress symptoms) compared with those who had the highest income level; the highest mean difference in scores was found for depression symptoms.
Limitations
Study participation was voluntary, which could bias results.
Psychological factors were not confirmed by mental health professionals.
Disclosures
No grant from any funding agency, commercial, or not-for-profit sector was reported.
This is a summary of a preprint research study, “The impact of COVID-19 and socioeconomic status on psychological distress in cancer patients.” The study has not been peer reviewed. The full text can be found at medRxiv.org.
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