Physical Comorbidities and Depression in Recent and Long-Term Adult Cancer Survivors: NHANES 2007–2018
1
CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain
2
Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública, 18080 Granada, Spain
3
Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.GRANADA, 18012 Granada, Spain
4
Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
5
Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Virgen Macarena, 49009 Seville, Spain
6
Harding Center for Risk Literacy, 14195 Berlin, Germany
7
Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Philip R. Debruyne and Patricia Schofield
Cancers 2021, 13(13), 3368; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13133368
Received: 7 June 2021
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Revised: 2 July 2021
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Accepted: 3 July 2021
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Published: 5 July 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychosocial Oncology: Recent Advances and Challenges)
Simple Summary
Most cancer patients suffer one or more physical comorbidities (other somatic diseases present at the moment of cancer diagnosis). Previous research has shown that these comorbidities can interfere with cancer treatment and shorten the patient’s survival time. We propose that comorbidities could also interfere with the mental health of cancer patients and increase the risk of suffering depression in the years following the cancer diagnosis. We tested this possibility in a study of 2073 adult cancer survivors. We found that the number of physical comorbidities present at the moment of cancer diagnosis was related to higher risk of reporting depression in cancer survivors who were diagnosed up to 5 years before the study. This relationship was strongest among survivors of breast cancer. Information about comorbidities is usually readily available and could be useful in streamlining depression screening or targeting prevention efforts in cancer patients and survivors.
Many adult cancer patients present one or more physical comorbidities. Besides interfering with treatment and prognosis, physical comorbidities could also increase the already heightened psychological risk of cancer patients. To test this possibility, we investigated the relationship between physical comorbidities with depression symptoms in a sample of 2073 adult cancer survivors drawn from the nationally representative National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (2007–2018) in the U.S. Based on information regarding 16 chronic conditions, the number of comorbidities diagnosed before and after the cancer diagnosis was calculated. The number of comorbidities present at the moment of cancer diagnosis was significantly related to depression risk in recent but not in long-term survivors. Recent survivors who suffered multimorbidity had 3.48 (95% CI 1.26–9.55) times the odds of reporting significant depressive symptoms up to 5 years after the cancer diagnosis. The effect of comorbidities was strongest among survivors of breast cancer. The comorbidities with strongest influence on depression risk were stroke, kidney disease, hypertension, obesity, asthma, and arthritis. Information about comorbidities is usually readily available and could be useful in streamlining depression screening or targeting prevention efforts in cancer patients and survivors. A multidimensional model of the interaction between cancer and other physical comorbidities on mental health is proposed.
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Keywords:
cancer; comorbidity; mental health; depression; cancer survivors
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MDPI and ACS Style
Petrova, D.; Catena, A.; Rodríguez-Barranco, M.; Redondo-Sánchez, D.; Bayo-Lozano, E.; Garcia-Retamero, R.; Jiménez-Moleón, J.-J.; Sánchez, M.-J. Physical Comorbidities and Depression in Recent and Long-Term Adult Cancer Survivors: NHANES 2007–2018. Cancers 2021, 13, 3368. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13133368
AMA Style
Petrova D, Catena A, Rodríguez-Barranco M, Redondo-Sánchez D, Bayo-Lozano E, Garcia-Retamero R, Jiménez-Moleón J-J, Sánchez M-J. Physical Comorbidities and Depression in Recent and Long-Term Adult Cancer Survivors: NHANES 2007–2018. Cancers. 2021; 13(13):3368. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13133368
Chicago/Turabian StylePetrova, Dafina, Andrés Catena, Miguel Rodríguez-Barranco, Daniel Redondo-Sánchez, Eloísa Bayo-Lozano, Rocio Garcia-Retamero, José-Juan Jiménez-Moleón, and María-José Sánchez. 2021. "Physical Comorbidities and Depression in Recent and Long-Term Adult Cancer Survivors: NHANES 2007–2018" Cancers 13, no. 13: 3368. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13133368
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