Psychological distress and fear of COVID-19 in cancer patients and normal subjects—A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives The aim of this study is to evaluate fears, worries, and anxiety among cancer patients and healthy subjects. Material and Methods The current study included two study groups (SGs) with 195 respondents, 93 colorectal patients (CCSG-1) and 102 control subjects (CSSG-2). The purpose of this study was to estimate the levels of post-traumatic symptoms, depression, anxiety, and fear of COVID-19 during the pandemic. Results In our analysis, we found a slightly higher level of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder in the cancer group than in the control group. Furthermore, we showed no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the impact of fear of COVID-19 infection. Then, we evaluated the relationship among the anxiety, depression and posttraumatic-stress disorder (PTSD) (scales) with the total score fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S) in both groups through a multiple linear regression analysis. We reported that each explicative variable had a moderate influence on the fear of COVID-19 in the cancer group, while in the control group, anxiety and PTSD had a significant influence on the fear of COVID-19 in comparison with depression. Conclusion Our results indicate a significant psychological vulnerability in both groups during the strict lockdown. Specifically, we highlight that the control group suffers a negative impact on their mental state. With regard to cancer group, we noted that anxiety, depression, and distress and fear of COVID-19 levels did not increase in significant manner during the pandemic. A possible explanation can be that they are more worried about the delay of their treatment due the COVID-19 emergency. However. more efforts are necessary to better understanding of the mental well-being of the cancer patients and healthy subjects to improve psychological interventions and treatments. during this public health emergency.