Anxiety, Depression, and Coping Strategies during Chemotherapy Treatment: A Comparison of Older and Younger Adults with Advanced Cancer in Brazil

Abstract

We sought to examine differences in anxiety, depression and coping strategies among younger (<64-year old) and older (≥65-year old) patients. Patients were assessed at baseline (T1), mid-point (T2) and on the last day of treatment (T3) using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Ways of Coping. A linear mixed modeling approach was used. The study included 200 patients (gender: 70% women; diagnosis: 30% breast, 22% hematological, 18% gastrointestinal; disease stage: 60% advanced). Older patients who used an emotion-focused coping strategy had a greater decrease in anxiety at T3 compared to those that used problem-focused coping (p = .002).

Keywords:

• Anxiety
• depression
• coping
• cancer
• geriatric oncology

Acknowledgment

We would like to acknowledge the assistance of Dr. Susan Folkman, who generously provided knowledge and expertise in grouping the coping strategies.

Authors’ contributions

Concept and Design: C.D. Bergerot, E. J. Philip, P.G. Bergerot, S.K. Pal, W. Dale. Data Collection: C.D. Bergerot. Analysis and Interpretation of Data: C.D. Bergerot, M. Razavi, S.K. Pal, W. Dale. Manuscript Writing: C.D. Bergerot, E.J. Philip, P.G. Bergerot, M. Razavi, K.L. Clark, M. Loscalzo, S.K. Pal, W. Dale. Approval of Final Article: C.D. Bergerot, E.J. Philip, P.G. Bergerot, M. Razavi, K.L. Clark, M. Loscalzo, S.K. Pal, W. Dale.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no disclosures.

Data availability statement and materials

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

None.