Hutton J M, Williams M
Chartered Clinical Psychologists, South London and Maudsley Trust, London, UK.
Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2001 Oct;39(5):333-9. doi: 10.1054/bjom.2001.0645.
There is now ample evidence that psychological distress is common in patients with head and neck cancer and that psychology has a role in reducing this distress. In this study, the prevalence, nature, and correlates of distress were investigated, in 18 patients who were no longer being actively treated but were attending a follow-up clinic or support group (n= 9 each). Four of the patients had appreciable psychological distress and four each had anxiety or depression of at least borderline importance. The degree of depression and distress decreased with increasing age and there were trends for depression to decrease with time after the onset of the illness and to be slightly less common among those attending the support group (2/9 compared to 4/9). Numerous psychosocial difficulties were reported and perceptions of support available from friends and family were mixed. There are implications for services, and in particular, patients need to be given clear information about the resources available to give them psychosocial support.
现在有充分的证据表明，心理困扰在头颈癌患者中很常见，而且心理学在减轻这种困扰方面发挥着作用。在本研究中，对18名不再接受积极治疗但正在参加随访门诊或支持小组的患者（每组9人）的困扰患病率、性质及相关因素进行了调查。其中4名患者有明显的心理困扰，另外各有4名患者有至少具有临界重要性的焦虑或抑郁。抑郁和困扰程度随年龄增长而降低，且有趋势显示抑郁在疾病发作后的时间里会减少，在参加支持小组的患者中略少见（2/9对比4/9）。报告了许多心理社会困难，对来自朋友和家人的支持的看法不一。这对服务有启示意义，特别是，需要向患者提供关于可获得心理社会支持资源的明确信息。
