Depressive Symptoms and Associated Health-Related Variables in Older Adult Breast Cancer Survivors and Non-Cancer Controls.
Min-So Paek, Shan S Wong, Fang-Chi Hsu and 3 others
PMID 34143000WHAT IT FOUND
Older breast cancer survivors did not have more depressive symptoms than matched non-cancer women: 15.3% versus 15.5% after accounting for differences between groups.
Multiple comorbidities and functional limitations were strongly associated with depressive symptoms.
Key findings
01The adjusted prevalence of depressive symptoms was 15.3% in older breast cancer survivors and 15.5% in matched non-cancer controls, with no significant difference (p = 0.98).
02Multiple comorbidities were strongly associated with depressive symptoms, with odds ratios of 5.13 in breast cancer survivors and 3.37 in controls.
03Multiple functional limitations were associated with depressive symptoms, with odds ratios of 3.34 in breast cancer survivors and 3.52 in controls.
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What it does not show
Depressive symptoms were measured by a self-reported mental health score and three interview questions, not by a clinical diagnosis of depression. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show whether depressive symptoms came before or after cancer diagnosis, or whether comorbidities and functional limitations caused depressive symptoms. The authors did not stratify or control for time from diagnosis to survey. The mean time to survey was 7.1 years, so long-term survivor effects may affect the prevalence estimate. The data were from 1998 to 2012 and included only older Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, so results may not apply to fee-for-service beneficiaries or more recent practice. The dataset did not contain information on preexisting depressive symptoms or detailed cancer clinical information such as recurrence. Approximately 22% of the sample was ethnic minority, so findings may not generalize to more diverse populations.
Declared interests
The supplied publication types list NIH extramural research support. The article text provided does not include a separate conflict-of-interest declaration.