TY - JOUR
T1 - Non-cancer life stressors contribute to impaired quality of life in ovarian cancer patients
AU - Lutgendorf, Susan K.
AU - Slavich, George M.
AU - Degeest, Koenraad
AU - Goodheart, Michael
AU - Bender, David
AU - Thaker, Premal H.
AU - Penedo, Frank
AU - Zimmerman, Bridget
AU - Lucci, Joseph
AU - Mendez, Luis
AU - Collins, Katherine
AU - Sood, Anil K.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported in part by NIH grants CA88293 , CA104825 , and CA140933 to SL.
PY - 2013/12
Y1 - 2013/12
N2 - Objectives Diagnosis and treatment for a life threatening illness such as cancer are known to be psychologically impactful. However, little is known about the influence that non-cancer life stressors have on the quality of life (QOL) of ovarian cancer patients. The goal of the present study was to examine associations between non-cancer life stressors and QOL in 123 women with invasive epithelial ovarian cancer who were followed prospectively and longitudinally for one year. Methods Mixed models for repeated measures were used to examine the relationship between life stressors and QOL pre-surgery and one year later, while adjusting for age, cancer stage, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and chemotherapy status (at one year). Prospective associations between QOL pre-surgery and one-year QOL were also examined. Results Number and severity of life stressors were unrelated to QOL of participants before surgery. At one year, however, participants experiencing a greater number of life stressors reported poorer concurrent physical well-being (PWB) (p = 0.015), functional well-being (FWB) (p < 0.0001), social well-being (SWB) (p = 0.0003), and total QOL (p < 0.0001). Similar effects were found for life event severity. Finally, experiencing a greater number of life stressors pre-surgery predicted poorer overall QOL one year post-diagnosis (p < 0.0001). Conclusions Non-cancer life stressors can substantially impact long-term QOL of ovarian cancer patients, adjusting for medical variables such as chemotherapy and cancer stage, thus highlighting the importance of evaluating the stress burden of patients in ongoing cancer care.
AB - Objectives Diagnosis and treatment for a life threatening illness such as cancer are known to be psychologically impactful. However, little is known about the influence that non-cancer life stressors have on the quality of life (QOL) of ovarian cancer patients. The goal of the present study was to examine associations between non-cancer life stressors and QOL in 123 women with invasive epithelial ovarian cancer who were followed prospectively and longitudinally for one year. Methods Mixed models for repeated measures were used to examine the relationship between life stressors and QOL pre-surgery and one year later, while adjusting for age, cancer stage, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and chemotherapy status (at one year). Prospective associations between QOL pre-surgery and one-year QOL were also examined. Results Number and severity of life stressors were unrelated to QOL of participants before surgery. At one year, however, participants experiencing a greater number of life stressors reported poorer concurrent physical well-being (PWB) (p = 0.015), functional well-being (FWB) (p < 0.0001), social well-being (SWB) (p = 0.0003), and total QOL (p < 0.0001). Similar effects were found for life event severity. Finally, experiencing a greater number of life stressors pre-surgery predicted poorer overall QOL one year post-diagnosis (p < 0.0001). Conclusions Non-cancer life stressors can substantially impact long-term QOL of ovarian cancer patients, adjusting for medical variables such as chemotherapy and cancer stage, thus highlighting the importance of evaluating the stress burden of patients in ongoing cancer care.
KW - Anxiety
KW - Depression
KW - Life events
KW - Life stress
KW - Ovarian cancer
KW - Quality of life
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84888295616&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ygyno.2013.09.025
DO - 10.1016/j.ygyno.2013.09.025
M3 - Article
C2 - 24096110
AN - SCOPUS:84888295616
SN - 0090-8258
VL - 131
SP - 667
EP - 673
JO - Gynecologic oncology
JF - Gynecologic oncology
IS - 3
ER -