Loneliness in patients with cancer: the first year after cancer diagnosis.
OBJECTIVE
We studied the frequency and evolution of social and emotional loneliness in older cancer patients in comparison with younger cancer patients and older people without cancer. We evaluated if changes in common cancer-related and ageing-related problems such as fatigue, cognitive functioning and functional status contributed to the occurrence of loneliness.


METHODS
This study was part of the KLIMOP study (Dutch acronym for project on older cancer patients in Belgium and the Netherlands) and included older (≥70 years) and younger cancer patients (50-69 years) and older people without cancer. Data were collected at baseline and 1-year follow-up. Loneliness was measured with the loneliness scale of De Jong-Gierveld. The relationship between loneliness after 1 year and changes in fatigue, cognitive functioning and functional status was tested in multivariate logistic regression analyses.


RESULTS
Data were available for 475 participants. At baseline, older cancer patients were less lonely compared with older people without cancer. After 1 year, the frequency of emotional loneliness had significantly increased for older cancer patients (26-42%, p < 0.001) and had reached levels of older people without cancer. Emotional loneliness also increased for younger cancer patients (25-34%, p = 0.02), but not for older people without cancer (40-38%, p = 0.69). Frequency of social loneliness did not change significantly. People who were persistently fatigued and people who became or were persistently impaired on cognitive functioning were at increased risk of becoming lonely.


CONCLUSIONS
Loneliness, in particular emotional loneliness, is a common problem in cancer patients, and its frequency changes considerably over time.
Department of General Practice, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Laura
L
Deckx
Department of General Practice, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.|Department of Family Medicine, School CAPHRI, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Marjan
M
van den Akker
Discipline of General Practice, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Mieke
M
van Driel
Limburgs Oncologisch Centrum, Hasselt, Belgium.
Paul
P
Bulens
Department of Medical Oncology, School GROW, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Doris
D
van Abbema
Department of Medical Oncology, School GROW, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Vivianne
V
Tjan-Heijnen
Department of General Medical Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Cindy
C
Kenis
Department of Gynaecology, Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg, Genk, Belgium.
Eric T
ET
de Jonge
Department of Abdominal and Oncological Surgery, Jessa Hospital, Hasselt, Belgium.
Bert
B
Houben
Department of General Practice, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.|Department of Family Medicine, School CAPHRI, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Frank
F
Buntinx
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001530:Belgium; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008132:Loneliness / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D009426:Netherlands; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors