Open Access, Peer-reviewed
pISSN 2287-2434
eISSN 2287-447X
    Asian Oncol Nurs. 2015 Sep;15(3):132-139. Korean.
    Published online Sep 30, 2015.
    https://doi.org/10.5388/aon.2015.15.3.132
    © 2015 Korean Oncology Nursing Society
    Original Article

    Factors Influencing Elevated Distress Scores at the End of Primary Treatment of Breast Cancer

    Jin-Hee Park,1 Sun Hyoung Bae,1 Mison Chun,2 Yong-Sik Jung,2 and Young-Mi Jung1
      • 1College of Nursing·Nursing Research Institute, Ajou University, Suwon, Korea.
      • 2School of Medicine, Ajou University, Suwon, Korea.
    • Address reprint requests to: Jung, Young Mi. College of Nursing·Nursing Research Institute, Ajou University, 164 World cup-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon 16499, Korea. Tel: +82-31-219-7019, Fax: +82-31-219-7020, Email: jdudal@ajou.ac.kr
    Received June 18, 2015; Revised August 27, 2015; Accepted September 22, 2015.

    This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

    Abstract

    Purpose

    The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of distress and to investigate the related problems in breast cancer patients at the end of primary treatment.

    Methods

    A sample of 118 participants was recruited among outpatients who had successfully completed primary treatment of breast cancer. Data were collected between July, 2013 and October, 2014 using the Distress Thermometer (DT) scale and problem lists. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze data.

    Results

    Among the 118 patients that participated in this study, 34 patients (28.8%) suffered from elevated distress using the previously validated cut point ≥4 for the DT. Problems most frequently encountered were fatigue (68.8%), worry (59.3%), appearance (51.7%) and memory/concentration (48.3%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that depression (OR=9.55), worry (OR=8.34), fatigue (OR=8.19) and age (OR=1.14) were independent predictors for elevated distress scores.

    Conclusion

    Utilizing the DT, onethird of breast cancer patients screened met criteria for distress at the end of the primary treatment. Breast cancer patients with depression, worry, fatigue and older age should be targeted for distress screening and management.

    Keywords
    Breast Neoplasms; Psychological Distress; Depression; Survivors

    Tables

    Table 1
    Demographic and Treatment-Related Factors of Patients in Mild Distress Group and Moderate-Severe Distress Group

    Table 2
    Problem Lists in Mild Distress Group and Moderate-Severe Distress Group

    Table 3
    Influencing Factors of Moderate-Severe Distress (N=118)

    Notes

    This study was supported by a grant from the National R&D Program for Cancer Control, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (No. 1320290).

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    MeSH Terms
    Breast Neoplasms*
    Breast*
    Depression
    Fatigue
    Humans
    Logistic Models
    Mass Screening
    Outpatients
    Prevalence
    Survivors
    Thermometers
    Metrics
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    Tables
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