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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Gynecological Oncology
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1380916

Trajectory of Psychological Distress and Influencing Factors in Patients with Gynecological Cancers: A Longitudinal Study

Provisionally accepted
Feifei Li Feifei Li Jing Xu Jing Xu Xiaorun Wang Xiaorun Wang Yueyuan He Yueyuan He Shanhong Zhang Shanhong Zhang *
  • Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective To explore the dynamic changes of psychological distress among patients with gynecological cancers across their treatment journey and identify the characteristics of subgroups of patients with distinct trajectories. Methods This study included a convenience sample of 132 patients with cervical cancer, ovarian cancer or endometrial cancer who received surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy in the gynecological department of a Grade III and Class A general hospital in Liaoning Province between November 2022 and October 2023. Patients' mean age was 55.46±11.12 years. Psychological distress was measured with the Distress Thermometer and Problem List 1 day before surgery, before the first chemotherapy session, at the third chemotherapy session, and at the end of the last chemotherapy session. A latent class growth model (LCGM) was used to identify trajectories of psychological distress and explore influencing factors.The LCGM identified three different trajectories of psychological distress in patients with gynecological cancers, including Class 1, "high level decline " (37.4%), Class 2, "no psychological distress" (24.1%), and Class 3, "high level stable" (38.5%). Multinomial logistic regression analysis showed monthly per capita household income, disease type, positive coping style and temperament type were significant predictors of trajectory of psychological distress in patients with gynecological cancers. Conclusions This study showed heterogeneity in the trajectory of psychological distress among patients with gynecological cancers. These findings should raise awareness among healthcare providers of the need to implement screening measures and timely psychological interventions in this patient population.

    Keywords: gynecological cancer, psychological distress, trajectory, Potential category growth model, longitudinal study

    Received: 02 Feb 2024; Accepted: 29 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Li, Xu, Wang, He and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Shanhong Zhang, Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China

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