title: Distress among inflammatory bowel disease patients at high risk for colorectal cancer: a preliminary investigation of the effects of family history of cancer, disease duration, and perceived social support.
abstract: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are one of only three groups at high risk for colorectal cancer (CRC), a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Yet, no research has examined psychological effects of their high-risk status. The present study offered an initial investigation of three potential predictors of patient distress: disease duration, family history of cancer, and perceived social support. Longer disease duration and stronger family history of cancer are associated with elevated CRC risk in this already high-risk population. Perceived support was conceptualized as a resource that could decrease vulnerability to distress or buffer adverse psychological effects of disease duration and family history. Men and women (n = 223) with IBD participating in a colon disease family registry completed measures for this cross-sectional study. Family history of CRC and non-colorectal cancers among first-degree relatives (FDRs) and more distant relatives (DRs) was examined separately. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that having greater perceived support predicted lower generalized distress (p<0.001). Having an FDR history of CRC predicted higher CRC-specific distress (p = 0.02). Having a DR history of CRC also predicted higher CRC-specific distress, but only among patients diagnosed more recently (p = 0.03). Clinical implications of these findings are discussed along with future research directions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncological Sciences, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA. christine.rini@mssm.edu
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rini
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jandorf
authors.forename: Heiddis
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Valdimarsdottir
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Steven H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Itzkowitz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D003082:Colectomy / Q000523:psychology; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology* / Q000601:surgery; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012042:Registries; D012737:Sex Factors; D012803:Sick Role; D012944:Social Support