The association between history of traumatic events and health-related quality of life among lung cancer patients

Abstract

Purpose

Promoting health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a primary goal of lung cancer treatment. Trauma history and distress can negatively impact HRQOL.

Design

A cross-sectional design examined the associations of trauma history, cancer-specific distress, and HRQOL.

Sample/Method

Sixty lung cancer patients completed questionnaires on trauma history including the number and severity of traumatic events experienced. Cancer-specific distress, HRQOL, and depression were also reported.

Findings

As hypothesized, trauma history and cancer-specific distress were negatively associated with HRQOL (all r’s > −.27). Depression emerged as a confound in the association between cancer-specific distress and HRQOL.

Conclusions

Retrospectively-reported trauma was linked with poorer HRQOL in lung cancer patients.

Implications

Interventions aimed at improving lung cancer patients’ HRQOL should consider the possible role of trauma history (both frequency and distress).

Keywords:

• Cancer
• health-related quality of life
• mental health
• oncology
• trauma history
• well-being

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Dr. Tamara Newton for guidance regarding the conceptualization and measurement of traumatic history used in this study. We thank the study participants for providing these data. We thank the James Graham Brown Cancer Center for their support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by a grant from the Kentucky Lung Cancer Research Program to S.E. Sephton.