Distress, anxiety, depression, and emotional well-being in African-American men with prostate cancer.

OBJECTIVE

African-American men have an incidence rate of prostate cancer 60% higher than Caucasian men. Over one-quarter of men with prostate cancer experience significant distress, yet psychosocial research has rarely focused on African-American men. This study presents novel data on emotional well-being, distress, anxiety, and depression in African-American men with prostate cancer.

METHODS

This archival research combined two databases (N=385 and N=367) comprised of 55 African-American men with prostate cancer. Quality of life was assessed with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy, distress was measured with the Distress Thermometer, and anxiety and depression were measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. African-American and Caucasian men were matched on age, education, and stage of disease, and compared on emotional well-being, distress, anxiety, and depression.

RESULTS

The mean age of the 55 African-American was 63 years old. In non-matched comparison, African-American men had elevated levels of distress, anxiety, and depression similar to Caucasian men. African-American men reported high levels of clinically significant distress (>31%) and anxiety (>23%). However, after matching the African-American and Caucasian men, African-American men reported higher mean scores on emotional well-being (p<0.05) and a lower percentage of African-American men displayed clinically significant depressive symptoms (p<0.05) compared with Caucasian men.

CONCLUSIONS

After matching the sample, African-American men seem to display a sense of resilience, demonstrating greater emotional well-being and a lower incidence of clinically significant depressive symptoms, compared with Caucasian men. This is consistent with cross-cultural research outside of prostate cancer. Continued research is needed to further elucidate the concept of resiliency in African-American men with prostate cancer.