title: Impact of perceived social support on the mental health and health-related quality of life in cancer patients: results from a nationwide, multicenter survey in South Korea.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated whether and how perceived social support is associated with depression and quality of life among patients with various cancer diagnoses.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected from 1930 cancer patients treated at the National Cancer Center and nine regional cancer centers across Korea. The Duke-UNC functional social support scale was used to measure the perceived social support, and the PHQ-9 and the EORTC QLQ-C30 were used to measure the cancer patients' depression levels and quality of life, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Subjects with low perceived social support reported significantly higher levels of depression, lower scores on all functional scales, higher scores on all three symptom scales, lower global health/quality of life scale scores, and higher scores on most single items than subjects with high perceived social support. There was no interaction between potential stressors and perceived social support, supporting the main effect model as the mechanism that the perceived social support reduce the adverse psychological outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Perceived social support was associated with mental health and quality of life in cancer patients, through direct effect rather than stress-buffering effect. Interventions to enhance perceived social support might be helpful for improving mental health and QOL in cancer patients.
authors: Department of Family Medicine, Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, Chuncheon, South Korea.
authors: Chun-Sick
authors: CS
authors: Eom
authors: Dong Wook
authors: DW
authors: Shin
authors: So Young
authors: SY
authors: Kim
authors: Hyung Kook
authors: HK
authors: Yang
authors: Heui Sug
authors: HS
authors: Jo
authors: Sun Seog
authors: SS
authors: Kweon
authors: Yune Sik
authors: YS
authors: Kang
authors: Jong-Heun
authors: JH
authors: Kim
authors: Be-Long
authors: BL
authors: Cho
authors: Jong-Hyock
authors: JH
authors: Park
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D010465:Perception; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires