Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Cancer Med. 2021 Dec;10(24):8854-8865. doi: 10.1002/cam4.4391. Epub 2021 Nov 29.
Given the high risk of COVID-19 mortality, patients with cancer may be vulnerable to fear of COVID-19, adverse psychological outcomes, and health care delays.
This longitudinal study surveyed the pandemic's impact on patients with cancer (N= 1529) receiving Patient Advocate Foundation services during early and later pandemic. Generalized estimating equation with repeated measures was conducted to assess the effect of COVID-19 on psychological distress. Logistic regression with repeated measures was used to assess the effect of COVID-19 on any delays in accessing health care (e.g., specialty care doctors, laboratory, or diagnostic testing, etc.).
Among 1199 respondents, 94% considered themselves high risk for COVID-19. Respondents with more fear of COVID-19 had a higher mean psychological distress score (10.21; 95% confidence intervals [CI] 9.38-11.03) compared to respondents with less fear (7.55; 95% CI 6.75-8.36). Additionally, 47% reported delaying care. Respondents with more fear of COVID-19 had higher percentages of delayed care than those with less (56; 95% CI 39%-72% vs. 44%; 95% CI 28%-61%). These relationships persisted throughout the pandemic. For respondents with a COVID-19 diagnosis in their household (n = 116), distress scores were similar despite higher delays in care (58% vs. 27%) than those without COVID-19.
Fear of COVID-19 is linked to psychological distress and delays in care among patients with cancer. Furthermore, those who are personally impacted see exacerbated cancer care delays. Timely psychosocial support and health care coordination are critical to meet increased care needs of patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic.
鉴于 COVID-19 死亡率高，癌症患者可能容易对 COVID-19 感到恐惧、出现不良心理后果和延误医疗。
本纵向研究调查了 COVID-19 对早期和后期大流行期间接受患者倡导基金会服务的癌症患者（N=1529）的影响。使用广义估计方程进行重复测量，以评估 COVID-19 对心理困扰的影响。使用重复测量的逻辑回归来评估 COVID-19 对任何医疗保健延迟（例如专科医生、实验室或诊断性检查等）的影响。
在 1199 名受访者中，94%的人认为自己感染 COVID-19 的风险较高。与恐惧程度较低的受访者相比，对 COVID-19 感到恐惧程度较高的受访者心理困扰评分更高（10.21；95%置信区间 [CI] 9.38-11.03）。此外，47%的受访者报告了延迟治疗。对 COVID-19 感到恐惧程度较高的受访者延迟治疗的比例高于恐惧程度较低的受访者（56%；95%CI 39%-72% 比 44%；95%CI 28%-61%）。这些关系在整个大流行期间都存在。对于家中有 COVID-19 诊断的受访者（n=116），尽管其医疗保健延迟（58%比 27%）更高，但他们的困扰评分相似。
对 COVID-19 的恐惧与癌症患者的心理困扰和医疗保健延迟有关。此外，那些受到个人影响的人看到癌症护理的延迟加剧。在 COVID-19 大流行期间，及时的心理社会支持和医疗保健协调对于满足癌症患者增加的护理需求至关重要。
