Dataset Information

Prevalence of mental distress among adult survivors of childhood cancer in Germany-Compared to the general population.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Increasing survival rates after childhood cancer have raised the issue of long-term mental health consequences in adulthood. This study determines mental health distress among long-term survivors of pediatric cancer and compares it to control groups.

Methods

Childhood cancer survivors (CCS; N = 951, aged 24-49 years) were compared to three age-matched control groups from the general population collected at three time points. The study compared the prevalence of clinically relevant symptoms of a wide range of common mental disorders (depression, somatic distress, suicidal ideation, generalized anxiety, panic, social anxiety, and sleep disturbances) using identical, validated questionnaires. CCS were identified by the German Childhood Cancer Registry. Controls were approached by a demographic consultation company (USUMA) which assured that the three samples were nationally representative.

Results

Childhood cancer survivors reported higher education than controls and were less often married. All forms of common mental distress were increased among survivors. Twenty-four percent of male (N = 526) and 41% of female survivors (N = 425) reported some form of clinically relevant mental health symptoms. Somatic distress as the leading complaint was highly frequent among CCS (OR: 10.98, CI 95%: 7.24-16.64). Complaints by generalized anxiety (OR: 5.04, CI 95%: 2.61-9.70), panic (OR: 3.28, CI 95%: 1.60-6.70), depression (OR: 3.36, CI 95%: 2.22-5.09), and suicidality (OR = 2.22; CI 95%: 1.38-3.57) were also strongly increased. Female sex, low education, low income, and unemployment were associated with increased distress.

Conclusions

Findings indicate a need to integrate psycho-oncological screening and care into long-term aftercare. Somatic distress, as cause and indicator of psychological distress, should receive stronger attention, especially tiredness, low energy, and pain.

SUBMITTER: Burghardt J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6488141 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Prevalence of mental distress among adult survivors of childhood cancer in Germany-Compared to the general population.

Burghardt Juliane J Klein Eva E Brähler Elmar E Ernst Mareike M Schneider Astrid A Eckerle Susan S Neu Marie Astrid MA Wingerter Arthur A Henninger Nicole N Panova-Noeva Marina M Prochaska Jürgen J Wild Philipp P Beutel Manfred M Faber Jörg J

Cancer medicine 20190306 4

<h4>Background</h4>Increasing survival rates after childhood cancer have raised the issue of long-term mental health consequences in adulthood. This study determines mental health distress among long-term survivors of pediatric cancer and compares it to control groups.<h4>Methods</h4>Childhood cancer survivors (CCS; N = 951, aged 24-49 years) were compared to three age-matched control groups from the general population collected at three time points. The study compared the prevalence of clinical ...[more]

PMID: 30838816

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundIt is unknown whether a history of childhood cancer modifies the established disparities in cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) observed in the general population.ObjectivesWe sought to determine if disparities in CVRFs by race/ethnicity are similar among childhood cancer survivors compared with the general population.MethodsThe Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) is a retrospective cohort with a longitudinal follow-up of 24,084 5-year survivors diagnosed between 1970 and 1999. Multivariable piecewise exponential regression estimated incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, obesity, and ≥2 CVRFs by race/ethnicity. The CCSS sibling cohort and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cohort were used to compare the sociodemographic-adjusted IRRs for same-race/same-ethnicity disparities.ResultsNon-Hispanic Black (NHB) (n = 1,092) and Hispanic (n = 1,405) survivors compared with non-Hispanic White (NHW) (n = 13,960) survivors reported a higher cumulative incidence of diabetes (8.4%, 9.7%, and 5.1%, respectively); obesity (47.2%, 48.9%, and 30.2%, respectively); multiple CVRFs (17.7%, 16.6%, and 12.3%, respectively); and, for NHB survivors, hypertension (19.5%, 13.6%, and 14.3%, respectively) by 40 years of age (P < 0.001). Controlling for sociodemographic and treatment factors compared with NHW survivors, IRRs for NHB were increased for hypertension (IRR: 1.4; 95% CI: 1.1-1.8), obesity (IRR: 1.7; 95% CI: 1.4-2.1), and multiple CVRFs (IRR: 1.6; 95% CI: 1.2-2.1). IRRs for Hispanic survivors were increased for diabetes (IRR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.2-2.6) and obesity (IRR: 1.4; 95% CI: 1.2-1.7). The pattern of IRRs for CVRF differences was similar among CCSS sibling and National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cohorts.ConclusionsThe higher burden of CVRFs among NHB and Hispanic survivors compared with NHW survivors was similar to the general population. The promotion of cardiovascular health equity is critical in this high-risk population.

Dataset Information

Prevalence of mental distress among adult survivors of childhood cancer in Germany-Compared to the general population.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Prevalence of mental distress among adult survivors of childhood cancer in Germany-Compared to the general population.

Similar Datasets

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