Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Gender in Medicine, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Center, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
Genes (Basel). 2021 May 14;12(5):741. doi: 10.3390/genes12050741.
Little is known about how women with a mutation develop an individual understanding of their breast and ovarian cancer risk and how this affects their psychological distress. In this study, we investigated associations between illness representations, coping strategies and psychological distress. = 101 mutation carriers answered self-report questionnaires on illness representations, coping strategies, cancer worry and depressive symptoms. Women without cancer were compared to women with a previous cancer diagnosis. Illness representations explained 50% and 45% of the variability in cancer worry and depressive symptoms, respectively. Woman perceiving severe consequences ( = 0.29, < 0.01) and having more concerns ( = 0.37, < 0.01) were found to report more cancer worry. Perceiving information about the mutation as less coherent ( = -0.17, < 0.05) and experiencing negative emotional responses ( = 0.60, < 0.01) were both associated with more depressive symptoms. Women with a previous cancer diagnosis show patterns of illness representations that are potentially more distressing than women without a cancer diagnosis. Findings suggest that physicians involved in counseling should pay attention to illness representations of distressed women. Thereby, it would be possible to detect maladaptive thoughts associated with the mutation, address negative emotions and encourage adaptive coping strategies.
目前对于携带 突变的女性如何形成对自身乳腺癌和卵巢癌风险的个体认知，以及这种认知如何影响其心理困扰，我们知之甚少。本研究旨在调查疾病认知、应对策略与心理困扰之间的相关性。我们招募了 101 名携带 突变的女性，让她们填写疾病认知、应对策略、癌症焦虑和抑郁症状的自评问卷。我们将无癌病史的女性与有癌病史的女性进行了比较。疾病认知分别解释了癌症焦虑和抑郁症状 50%和 45%的可变性。结果发现，女性认为后果严重（ = 0.29， < 0.01）和顾虑较多（ = 0.37， < 0.01），则会报告更多的癌症焦虑；认为突变相关信息不太一致（ = -0.17， < 0.05）和经历负面情绪反应（ = 0.60， < 0.01）与更多的抑郁症状相关。有癌症病史的女性表现出的疾病认知模式可能比无癌症病史的女性更具困扰性。这些发现表明，参与咨询的医生应关注焦虑女性的疾病认知。通过这种方式，可以发现与突变相关的适应不良思维，解决负面情绪，并鼓励适应性应对策略。
