Understanding health anxiety following breast cancer diagnosis

Abstract

Health anxiety is a persistent fear of illness or disease that often involves the misinterpretation of bodily symptoms as signs of serious illness. Evidence shows that health anxiety affects a proportion of women following a diagnosis of breast cancer, but there are some limitations to how health anxiety has been measured. The objectives of this study were to (1) provide an estimate of clinically elevated health anxiety in women after a diagnosis of breast cancer using a validated measure appropriate for medical populations and (2) understand patient, disease, and anxiety/vulnerability variables that predict health anxiety in this group. Canadian women (n = 137) diagnosed with breast cancer within the past five years completed an online survey measuring health anxiety, along with patient, disease, and anxiety/vulnerability variables. Clinically significant health anxiety was reported by 23.4% of the sample. The regression model revealed that younger age, more advanced stage of breast cancer, increased cognitive anxiety sensitivity, and greater body vigilance were significant unique predictors of health anxiety. These findings highlight that a proportion of women report substantial health anxiety following breast cancer diagnosis, with a combination of patient, disease, and anxiety/vulnerability variables associated with the experience. Further research is needed to better understand the impact of health anxiety in this population.

Keywords:

• anxiety vulnerability
• body vigilance
• breast cancer
• health anxiety