To determine the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of patients with lung cancer, psychiatrists performed a cross-sectional mental health evaluation in a single center between March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021. Dr. Arrieta and his colleague enrolled 548 patients, average age 61.5. Most patients had been diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (86.9%) and 80% had metastatic disease.
Patients were assessed using the DASS-21 screening tool, a 21-question survey divided into three sectionsdepression, anxiety, and distress.
The mean DASS-21 score was 10.45 with women reporting higher levels (11.41 vs 9.08) than men. Almost a third of the patients reported they experienced anxiety during the pandemic, followed by depression and distress in equal proportions (18 %). Nearly a quarter of patients (23.9 %) reported a change in treatment and 78.6% said those changes were due to reasons pertaining to the pandemic. Delays (≥ 7 days) were the most frequent treatment change in 41.9%, followed by treatment suspension at 37.4%.
“After we adjusted for age and gender, we found that patients with lung cancer and depression were 4.5 times (95% CI 1.53 to 13.23, p=0.006) more likely to experience delays in their lung cancer treatment,” Dr. Arrieta reported. Similarly, patients with stress had 3.18 higher odds of experiencing delays (95% CI 1.2 to 10.06, p= 0.006). Anxiety was not associated with delays in care.
Dr. Arrieta also found that patients who reported no changes or delays in treatment had a more prolonged progression-free survival and overall survival [HR 0.21, p
Source: Eurekalert
