Type D Personality in Gastric Cancer Survivors: Association With Poor Quality of Life, Overall Survival, and Mental Health.
The associations between Type D personality and poor quality of life, overall survival, and mental health in gastric cancer survivors.



The aim of this research was to explore quality of life (QoL), mental health status, Type D personality, symptom duration, and emergency admissions of Chinese gastric cancer patients, as well as the relationship between these factors.



Eight hundred thirty eligible Chinese patients newly diagnosed with gastric cancer between July 2009 and July 2011 were enrolled in this prospective study. Type D personality was measured with the 14-item Type D Personality Scale (DS14). Mental health status was measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The QoL outcomes were assessed longitudinally using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 and Quality of Life Questionnaire-STO22 at baseline and six months after diagnosis.



The proportion of patients with symptom duration of more than one month and who were diagnosed after emergency admissions in the Type D group was significantly higher than that in the non-Type D personality group. At both of the time points, Type D patients reported statistically significant lower scores on role, emotional, cognitive, and social functioning (all Ps < 0.001) functional scales, global health status/QoL scales (P < 0.001), and worse symptom scores compared to patients without a Type D personality. During the six-month time frame, a higher percentage of patients in the Type D group demonstrated a considerable QoL deterioration. Clinically elevated levels of anxiety and depression were more prevalent in Type D than in non-Type D survivors (both Ps < 0.001). There was a statistically significant difference in three-year overall survival between the patients in the Type D group and the non-Type D personality group.



Type D personality is associated with poor QoL, three-year overall survival and mental health status among survivors of gastric cancer, even after adjustment of confounding background variables. The Type D personality group experienced increased levels of pain and fatigue compared to non-Type D patients. Type D personality might be a general vulnerability factor to screen for subgroups at risk of longer symptom duration and emergency admissions in clinical practice.
Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Jia-Kui
JK
Zhang
Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Li-Li
LL
Fang
Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
De-Wei
DW
Zhang
Department of Psychiatry, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Qiu
Q
Jin
Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Center of Evidence Based Medicine, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Xiao-Mei
XM
Wu
Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Ji-Chao
JC
Liu
Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Chun-Dong
CD
Zhang
Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China. Electronic address: daidq1963@sina.com.
Dong-Qiu
DQ
Dai
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000401:mortality; D000073116:Cancer Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000401:mortality; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D010556:Personality Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016019:Survival Analysis; D064415:Type D Personality
Gastric cancer; Type D personality; health status; health-related quality of life; referrals