The cancer patient’s perspective of COVID‐19‐induced distress—A cross‐sectional study and a longitudinal comparison of HRQOL assessed before and during the pandemic

Background To permit timely mitigation of adverse effects on overall clinical outcome, it is essential to understand how the pandemic influences distress and health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) in cancer patients during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. Methods In this cross‐secti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cancer Medicine 2021-06, Vol.10 (12), p.3928-3937
Main Authors: Koinig, Karin A., Arnold, Christoph, Lehmann, Jens, Giesinger, Johannes, Köck, Stefan, Willenbacher, Wolfgang, Weger, Roman, Holzner, Bernhard, Ganswindt, Ute, Wolf, Dominik, Stauder, Reinhard
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Cancer
cancer patients
Cancer therapies
Clinical Cancer Research
corona virus disease 2019
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Cross-sectional studies
distress
emotional well‐being
Emotions
health related quality of life
Hematology
Hospitals
Leukemia
Lung cancer
Mental health
Multiple myeloma
Original Research
Pandemics
Patients
Prostate
Quality of life
survey
Web portals
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Summary:Background To permit timely mitigation of adverse effects on overall clinical outcome, it is essential to understand how the pandemic influences distress and health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) in cancer patients during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. Methods In this cross‐sectional study, adult cancer patients, without COVID‐19 symptoms, completed a 13‐item questionnaire about the pandemic's impacts on distress and everyday‐life; associations with age, sex, or impaired HRQOL were then assessed by binary logistic regressions. In a subsample of patients with HRQOL assessment available from both before and during the pandemic, we evaluated the pandemic's impact on longitudinal changes in HRQOL reported within 6 months before versus during the COVID‐19 lockdown using McNemar's test, and thresholds for clinical importance. Results We consecutively enrolled 240 patients with solid (50%) or hematological (50%) cancers. Median age was 67 years, 46% were females. The majority ranked heeding their health (80%) and keeping their appointment schedule in hospital (78%) as important. Being younger than 60, or aged 60–70 was independently associated with limitations in everyday life (OR = 3.57, p 
ISSN:2045-7634
2045-7634
DOI:10.1002/cam4.3950