Association between self-perception of aging, view of cancer and health of older patients in oncology: a one-year longitudinal study

BMC Cancer

Research Article

M. Van den Akker¹  F. Buntinx¹  Guy Jerusalem²  Pierre Missotten³  Stéphane Adam³  Sarah Schroyen⁴ 

[1] Department of General Practice, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium;CAPHRI Research School, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands;Laboratory of Medical Oncology, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium;Department of Medical Oncology, CHU Sart-Tilman Liège, Liège, Belgium;Psychology of Aging Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Liège (ULg), Traverse des Architectes (B63c), 4000, Liege, BE, Belgium;Psychology of Aging Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Liège (ULg), Traverse des Architectes (B63c), 4000, Liege, BE, Belgium;INSERM U12919 Bordeaux Population Health, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France;

关键词: Ageism;    Cancer;    Oncology;    Elderly;    Self-perception;    Stigmas;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12885-017-3607-8

 received in 2016-10-21, accepted in 2017-08-24,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIdentifying older people affected by cancer who are more at risk of negative health outcomes is a major issue in health initiatives focusing on medical effectiveness. In this regard, psychological risk factors such as patients’ perception of their own aging and cancer could be used as indicators to improve customization of cancer care. We hypothesize that more negative self-perception of aging (SPA) and view of cancer could be linked to worse physical and mental health outcomes in cancer patients.MethodsOne hundred one patients diagnosed with cancer (breast, gynecological, lung or hematological) were followed for 1 year. They were evaluated on four occasions (baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months after the baseline). Their SPA, view of cancer and health (physical and mental) were assessed at each time of evaluation.ResultsNegative SPA and/or view of cancer at baseline are associated with negative evolution of patients’ physical and mental health. Moreover, when the evolution of SPA and cancer view were taken into account, these two stigmas are still linked with the evolution of mental health. In comparison, only a negative evolution of SPA was linked to worse physical health outcomes.ConclusionsSuch results indicate that SPA and view of cancer could be used as markers of vulnerability in older people with cancer.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017