The association between history of traumatic events and health-related quality of life among lung cancer patients.

Promoting health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a primary goal of lung cancer treatment. Trauma history and distress can negatively impact HRQOL. A cross-sectional design examined the associations of trauma history, cancer-specific distress, and HRQOL. Sixty lung cancer patients completed questionnaires on trauma history including the number and severity of traumatic events experienced. Cancer-specific distress, HRQOL, and depression were also reported. As hypothesized, trauma history and cancer-specific distress were negatively associated with HRQOL (all r's > −.27). Depression emerged as a confound in the association between cancer-specific distress and HRQOL. Retrospectively-reported trauma was linked with poorer HRQOL in lung cancer patients. Interventions aimed at improving lung cancer patients' HRQOL should consider the possible role of trauma history (both frequency and distress). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Psychosocial Oncology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)