Assessing the Relationship between Socioeconomic Status, Race, and Psychological Distress in Cancer Survivors: A Population Based Study

• Published in: Current oncology (Toronto) Vol. 29; no. 4; pp. 2575 - 2582
• Main Authors: Chidobem, Ikechukwu, Tian, Fan, Mgbodile, Chisom, Mgbodile, Francis, Jokar, Tahereh Orouji, Ogbuokiri, Esther, Khan, Nazia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI 09.04.2022; MDPI AG
• Subjects: cancer; Cancer Survivors - psychology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Neoplasms - complications; Neoplasms - psychology; Psychological Distress; race; Social Class; socioeconomic status; Stress, Psychological - epidemiology; United States; United States; cancer; race; psychological distress; socioeconomic status
• ISSN: 1718-7729; 1198-0052; 1718-7729
• DOI: 10.3390/curroncol29040211

Psychological distress is more common in cancer survivors than the general population, and is associated with adverse outcomes. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES), race and psychological distress, using data from a nationally representative sample of cancer survivors in the United States. Outcomes of interest were mild, moderate, and severe psychological distress as assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4). In our univariate model, there was no statistically significant difference in the PHQ-4 scores of Caucasian and African American respondents. On the other hand, a lower SES correlated with a higher likelihood of psychological distress, and this persisted in our multivariate model. This study brings additional awareness to the negative impact of a lower socioeconomic status on mental health outcomes in cancer survivors, and further highlights the importance of the timely identification and screening of individuals at a high risk of psychological distress, in order to limit missed opportunities for relevant mental health interventions in this population.