Emotional stress in the aetiology of cancer

1972 ◽  
Vol 61 (02) ◽  
pp. 87-98
Author(s):  
James Hamilton

Summary1 This paper is based on a study of sixteen patients suffering from various forms of cancer. These patients were found in general practice.2 In these patients the malignant disease was found in breasts, stomach, colon, rectum, uterus, larynx and lungs.3 It was found that these sixteen patients had histories of both somatic and psychological illnesses for varying periods before the presence of cancer was detected. None had a clean bill of health before the onset of cancer.4 A study and assessment of the personalities of the patients were made. These referred to the periods before and during the development of cancer.5 The presence of psychological symptoms resulting from emotional stress previous to the development of cancer was noted in all cases.6 It was noted that in many patients, the symptoms of cancer developed gradually and were aggravated during periods of severe emotional distress.7 The psychological stress produced symptoms predominantly related to fear, anxiety, apprehension, grief and depression, anger and resentment.8 The hypothesis that, from a study of these sixteen patients, cancer may have the characteristics of a psychosomatic disease, was explored.9 It would appear from the evidence of these cases that a more detailed scientific study of cancer cases would be profitable, to asses with greater precision the hypothesis that unpleasant emotional stress plays a part in the aetiology of at least some forms of cancer.

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Vogelbacher ◽  
Manja Attig

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed many challenges, especially for families. Both the public and the scientific community are currently discussing the extent to which school closings have worsened existing social differences, especially with regard to children’s academic and socio-emotional development. At the same time, parents have had to manage childcare and home schooling alongside their jobs and personal burdens posed by the pandemic. Parents’ possibilities for meeting these cognitive and emotional challenges might also depend on the different conditions in families. For this reason, the present paper investigates the structural and process characteristics of the family as well as children’s and parents’ psychological characteristics that predict how parents assess their ability to support their child’s learning during homeschooling as well as parents’ perceived emotional stress caused by school closure. The study analyses data of the Newborn Cohort Study of the German National Educational Panel Study. The two dependent variables (self-assessment of abilities, perceived stress) were measured during the COVID-19 pandemic after the first school closure in Germany, at a time when the children of this cohort were attending second grade. Besides a number of control variables (including the child’s struggle with home schooling), families’ structural characteristics [socioeconomic status (SES), education], process characteristics (home learning environment, HLE), parents’ psychological characteristics (preceding psychological stress), and the child’s psychological characteristics (self-regulation, school-related independence) from earlier waves were included as predictors. The results of structural equation models show that perceived stress was associated with structural factors and the preceding psychological stress of parents. Parents with higher preceding stress reported higher perceived stress. Interestingly, higher-educated parents also reported more stress than lower educated parents during the pandemic. The effect was the other way around for SES – parents with lower SES reported more stress than parents with higher SES. The self-reported abilities to support the learning of the child seemed to be mainly predicted by the parent’s education as well as preceding psychological stress. To sum up, the results identify important aspects that determine how parents handle the challenges of the school closures. Especially, socially disadvantaged families carry their burden into the pandemic.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Toquero ◽  
Carmen Blanco Fernández ◽  
María Pilar López Martí ◽  
Berta Hernández Marín ◽  
E. Beatriz Vera Cea ◽  
...  

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused mental health problems worldwide. The psychopathological implications of COVID-19 in cancer patients have rarely been addressed. Considering the increased vulnerability of oncology patients, this issue needs to be addressed to improve the long-term mental health status of these patients.Methods: We conducted a prospective study in outpatients under active cancer treatment during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. A semi-structured 24-question survey was designed to measure baseline sociodemographic, psychosocial and COVID-19 exposure characteristics. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to measure psychological symptoms. A descriptive and analytical univariate analysis of the variables studied was performed. We used the Z-score to compare different populations (experimental and historical control cohort).Results: 104 patients were included, the majority of which were women (64.4%), were above 65 years of age (57.7%), had either lung and breast cancer (56.7%), had advanced disease (64%) and were undergoing chemotherapy (63.5%). 51% of them expressed greater fear of cancer than of COVID-19 infection or both.In relation to HADS, 52.8% of emotional distress, 42.3% of anxiety and 58.6% of depression rates were detected. The main factors related with higher rates of psychological symptomatology were history of previous psychotropic drug consumption and the adoption of additional infection prevention measures because they considered themselves at risk of severe COVID-19 infection (p = 0.008; p = 0.003 for emotional distress, p = 0.026; p = 0.004 for anxiety, and p = 0.013; p = 0.008 for depression). Tumor type, stage, oncologic treatment or rescheduling of cancer treatments were not related to higher levels of psychological symptomatology.Comparison of our results with another population of similar characteristics was not significant (Z score = −1.88; p = 0.060).Conclusions: We detected high rates of emotional distress during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic among cancer patients in active treatment (52.8%). This was higher and clinically relevant than observed in a comparable population (42.5%), although not significant. Cancer itself is the main factor of concern for cancer patients, above and beyond the emotional distress generated by COVID-19 pandemic.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 272-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesper Lykkegaard ◽  
Marianne Rosendal ◽  
Karen Brask ◽  
Lars Brandt ◽  
Anders Prior

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 1432
Author(s):  
Priscila Moreira Farago ◽  
Dayane Barros Ferreira ◽  
Rennata Paolla Jacintho Peres Reis ◽  
Isabelle Pimentel Gomes ◽  
Paula Elaine Diniz dos Reis

ABSTRACTObjective: to assess emotional distress situations experienced by patients before confirmation of the diagnosis of breast cancer. Method: this is a quantitative and qualitative study, from descriptive and transversal design. For collect data, it was used a convenience sample consisting of women with medical diagnosis of breast cancer, which were undergoing chemotherapy in a mastologic unit of a public hospital in Distrito Federal, Brazil. The data collection instrument contained 22 objective questions and one essay question. The data analysis of the objectives questions were performed through descriptive statistics as the subjective data were subjected to thematic analysis. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee in Research of Health State Secretariat of the Distrito Federal (protocol 207/09), in accordance with resolution No 196/96. Results: we observed various aspects of emotional distress from the obtained responses, such as verbal and physical abuse, loss of important people, lack of leisure time, workload, difficulties for conflict resolution and absence of honest forgiveness. Conclusion: although it is not possible to confirm the relationship between emotional stress and breast cancer, the results suggest that emotional life events can interfere in physical and mental health of individuals. Descriptors: breast neoplasms; women´s health; psychological stress. RESUMOObjetivo: conhecer quais situações de estresse emocional mulheres vivenciaram antes da confirmação do diagnóstico de câncer de mama. Método: trata-se de um estudo quanti-qualitativo, com delineamento descritivo e transversal. Para a coleta utilizou-se uma amostra de conveniência constituída por 75 mulheres com diagnóstico médico de câncer de mama, que estavam sendo submetidas a tratamento quimioterápico e em acompanhamento no ambulatório de mastologia de um hospital público do Distrito Federal. O instrumento de coleta de dados continha 22 questões objetivas e uma questão subjetiva. A análise dos dados objetivos ocorreu por meio de estatística descritiva enquanto os dados subjetivos foram submetidos à análise temática. O estudo foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa da Secretaria de Estado de Saúde do Distrito Federal (protocolo 207/09), respeitando a Resolução nº 196/96. Resultados: foi possível observar dentre as respostas, vários aspectos desencadeantes de estresse emocional, a saber: agressões verbais, físicas, perdas de pessoas importantes, falta de tempo para o lazer, sobrecarga de trabalho, dificuldades para resolução de conflitos e ausência do perdão sincero. Conclusão: Embora não seja possível afirmar a existência de relação entre estresse emocional e câncer de mama, os resultados sugerem que eventos da vida emocional podem interferir na saúde mental e física dos indivíduos. Descritores: câncer de mama; saúde da mulher; estresse psicológico. RESUMENObjetivo: conocer que las situaciones de estrés emocional mujeres experimentaron antes de desarrollar cáncer de mama. Método:  estudio cuantitativo y cualitativo, descriptivo y transversal. Utilizado una muestra de conveniencia, mujeres diagnosticadas con cáncer de mama que estaban siendo sometidos a la quimioterapia y en seguimiento en lo ambulatorio de Mastologia de un hospital público del Distrito Federal. El instrumento de recolección de datos contenía 22 preguntas objetivas y una cuestión subjetiva. El análisis de los datos objetivos fueron a través de estadística descriptiva, y los datos subjetivos fueron sometidos a la análisis temática. El estudio fue aprobado por lo Comité de Ética en la Investigación de la Secretaría de Estado de Salud del Distrito Federal (Protocolo 207/09), respetando la Resolución 196/96. Resultados: se observó diversos aspectos de la tensión emocional, tales como: agresión verbal e física, pérdidas de personas importantes, falta de tiempo libre, sobrecarga de trabajo, las dificultades en resolución de conflictos y falta de perdón sincero. Conclusión: Aunque no es posible afirmar la existencia de una relación entre el estrés emocional y el cáncer de mama, los resultados sugieren que los acontecimientos de la vida emocional puede interferir con la salud mental y física de las personas. Descriptores: neoplasias de la mama; salud de la mujer; estrés psicológico.  


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 57-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-B. Clérico ◽  
D Ilyasov ◽  
E Cherepov ◽  
A Sevryukova ◽  
E Selivanova ◽  
...  

Aim. The article deals with justifying theoretically and describing the authors’ methods of mental health maintenance in teachers experiencing emotional stress. Materials and methods. The proposed methods of mental health maintenance in teachers are based on the ideas of psychosomatics (S. Freud and I. Malkina-Pykh) and non-directive psychotherapy (C. Rogers). Three groups of methods have been described: self-analysis of a current life situation, energy recovery in teachers, and self-regulation of emotions in group interaction. Results. The authors studied neuro-psychological stress in teachers using Nemchin’s method. At the summative stage of the experiment, it was established that 56% of teachers experienced high neuro-psychological stress, and 26% – average. In 2018, the methods described were implemented at one of the comprehensive schools of the Russian Federation. The results of control diagnostics demonstrate a significant decrease in neuro-psychological stress in teachers who implemented these methods of mental health maintenance. This proves the effectiveness of the solutions proposed. Conclusion. This article contributes to the theoretical data on mental health maintenance in modern teachers. The scientific novelty and practical importance of this study are connected with the developed methods of mental health maintenance in teachers. The methods proposed can be used in practice for improving teachers’ expertise both in Russia and abroad.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-25
Author(s):  
Larysa Zasiekina ◽  
Tetiana Pastryk ◽  
Mariia Kozihora ◽  
Tetiana Fedotova ◽  
Serhii Zasiekin

Objectives. The article aims to reveal language-based markers of stressful experiences in healthcare workers in terms of their cognitions and emotions.  The following research questions were formulated for the current study: (1) Are risk and protective factors for psychological stress in healthcare staff, working with patients with COVID-19 aligned with anxiety, depression and resilience? (2) Are there any language-based indicators for emotional distress in healthcare staff, working with patients with COVID-19? (3) What are the key cognitions, emotions, and behavioral patterns are expressed in healthcare workers’ staff language? (4) What are words-associations in the Ukrainian Associative Dictionary aligned with language-based indicators of professional ethics in healthcare staff? Materials and Methods. The study applies Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Beck’s Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS), the Psychological Stress Scale (PSM-25), and the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC 2015). Results. Results show that healthcare staff demonstrates a low level of psychological stress, depression and anxiety, and a medium level of resilience. The results of multiple linear regression indicate that the only significant negative predictor of stress is resilience. The psycholinguistic analysis of healthcare staff's narrative on their professional experience treating COVID-19 patients shows the key meaningful categories, namely social contacts, cognitive processes, and time. Social contacts are primarily represented by the category family. The word-associations from the Ukrainian Associative Dictionary indicate that feeling of guilt related to professional ethics in healthcare staff is more expressed in men compared with women. Conclusion. The insights gained from this study may be of assistance to developing effective interventions for healthcare staff during a pandemic, primarily focusing on protective factors and weakening feelings of guilt to prevent moral injury. The study also raises some issues of the clinical psycholinguistic approach to examining emotional distress. This approach would be a fruitful area for further work.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Vitellio ◽  
Alexandra Chira ◽  
Maria De Angelis ◽  
Dan L Dumitrascu ◽  
Piero Portincasa

Background and Aims: Recent mounting evidence suggest that probiotics supplementation can have a positive effect on mood and psychological symptoms such as stress and anxiety disorders. The majority of studies, however, rely on animal models, while clinical data are still inconsistent. In this systematic review, we examined if and to which extent probiotics can influence psychological stress and anxiety disorders. Methods: The search of online databases Medline, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and clinical trials.gov provided relevant studies up to November 2019. We included double blind, randomized and placebo controlled or prospective studies, as well as studies measuring preclinical psychological symptoms of perceived stress and anxiety, before and after supplementation with a probiotic. Results: Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria (3 on stress, 4 on anxiety, and 5 both on stress and anxiety), accounting for 1,521 participants. The improvement of stress, anxiety, and stress-anxiety was reported in 1/3, 3/4, and 2/5 studies, respectively. Conclusions: Available studies suggest that probiotics may improve psychological symptoms associated particularly with anxiety. Further research needs to investigate whether probiotics also improve psychological stress disturbances.


2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 237-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Iliffe ◽  
Priya Jain ◽  
Jane Wilcock

This second of two articles on the recognition of and response to dementia syndrome in general practice focuses on the long-term support of patients and their families. It includes guidance on the use of cholinesterase inhibitors, the role of psychosocial interventions and the need to organize systematic follow-up. Sources of support for meeting carers' needs are discussed, including ways of managing behavioural and psychological symptoms that appear in the middle phase of the disease trajectory. Discussion of the issues underlying relocation to a care home, and the practicalities of end-of-life care, lead into ways of assessing the quality of care provided in general practice.


2012 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 13-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wataru Aoi ◽  
Tohru Kamata ◽  
Yasuo Ishiura ◽  
Masakazu Tomaru ◽  
Yoshihiko Satoh ◽  
...  

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