title: Partner support and anxiety in young women with breast cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Using a large prospective cohort of women age 40 or younger diagnosed with breast cancer, we examined the relationship between perceived partner support and anxiety.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six hundred seventy-five young women with breast cancer Stages I-III, median age 36, completed a self-report baseline questionnaire. Perceived partner support was assessed using items extracted from the marital subscale of the Cancer Rehabilitation Evaluation System; generalized social support was assessed with the Medical Outcomes Study-Social Support Survey. Anxiety was measured using the anxiety subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Multivariable logistic regression analyses evaluated the association between partner support, other sociodemographic factors, and anxiety.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean age at diagnosis was 35.4 years. Fourteen percent of the women were not partnered, and among those who were partnered or in a significant relationship, 20% were categorized as unsupported. In univariate and multivariable analysis adjusting for sociodemographic factors, women in an unsupported-partnered relationship had higher odds of anxiety symptoms compared with women in a supported-partnered relationship. Young age and being financially insecure were also both independently associated with anxiety.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that partner support may play a key role in a young woman's adjustment to a serious stressor such as breast cancer. In addition, younger age increases vulnerability to anxiety as does struggling with finances. Because supportive efforts of a partner have potential to protect against the impact of stress, interventions to enhance partner support and reduce anxiety might be beneficial to address challenges experienced as a couple in this setting.
authors.affiliation: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA.|School of Social Work, Simmons College, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Nancy A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Borstelmann
authors.affiliation: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA.|Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Shoshana M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
authors.affiliation: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Ruddy
authors.affiliation: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.|Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Rulla M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Tamimi
authors.affiliation: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Shari
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gelber
authors.affiliation: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.|Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Lidia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schapira
authors.affiliation: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.|Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Come
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado, Denver, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Borges
authors.affiliation: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Evan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.affiliation: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA.|Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Ann H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Partridge
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D057566:Self Report; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cancer; Oncology; anxiety; partner support; social support; young women