Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

Adjustment Disorder in Female Breast Cancer Patients: Prevalence and Its Accessory Symptoms

  • Published:
Current Medical Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

Women diagnosed with breast cancer may have serious psychological problems and will suffer from adjustment disorder (AjD). We investigated the prevalence of AjD in female breast cancer patients who were diagnosed within 1 year and examined the severe life events they experienced, and the most common symptoms of AjD. 342 newly diagnosed (<1 year) female breast cancer patients were recruited from Tongji Hospital and Hubei Cancer Hospital in Hubei, China, from July 2018 to May 2019. The patients completed the self-report questionnaire including demographic characteristics and the scale ADNM-20 for the diagnosis of AjD. SPSS20.0 was used for data analysis. As a result, the prevalence of AjD in breast cancer patients was 38.6%. Patients from rural areas and lacking of exercise were more likely to suffer from AjD (P<0.05). The prevalence of AjD in patients who did not regard breast cancer as the most severe life event was higher than that in patients who took breast cancer as the most severe life event (44.4% vs. 33.9%, P<0.05; OR=1.728, 95% CI=1.072-2.787). The symptom that scored highest was preoccupation (3.15). We found that the prevalence of AjD in women with breast cancer in this study is very high and warrants more attention. Patients from rural areas, lacking of exercise and subject to multiple stressors are more likely to suffer from AjD. The commonest and severe symptom is preoccupation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Bray F, Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, et al. Global cancer statistics 2018: Globo cancer estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin, 2018,68(6):394–424

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Mehnert A, Brahler E, Faller H, et al. Four-week prevalence of mental disorders in patients with cancer across major tumor entities. J Clin Oncol, 2014,32(31): 3540–3546

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Hund B, Reuter K, Harter M, et al. Stressors, Symptom Profile, and Predictors of Adjustment Disorder in Cancer Patients. Results from an epidemiological study with the composite international diagnostic interview, adaptation for oncology (CIDI-O). Depress Anxiety, 2016,33(2):153–161

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Bachem R, Casey P. Adjustment disorder: A diagnosis whose time has come. J Affect Disorders, 2018,227:243–253

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Kazlauskas E, Gegieckaite G, Eimontas J, et al. A Brief Measure of the International Classification of Diseases-11 Adjustment Disorder: Investigation of Psychometric Properties in an Adult Help-Seeking Sample. Psychopathology, 2018,51(1):10–15

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Mitchell AJ, Chan M, Bhatti H, et al. Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorder in oncological, haematological, and palliative-care settings: a meta-analysis of 94 interview-based studies. Lancet Oncol, 2011,12(2):160–174

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Maercker A, Forstmeier S, Pielmaier L, et al. Adjustment disorders: prevalence in a representative nationwide survey in Germany. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol, 2012,47(11):1745–1752

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Oh DJ, Lee DH, Kim EY, et al. Altered autonomic reactivity in Korean military soldiers with adjustment disorder. Psychiat Res, 2018,261:428–435

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Slavich GM, Irwin MR. From Stress to Inflammation and Major Depressive Disorder: A Social Signal Transduction Theory of Depression. Psychol Bull, 2014, 140(3):774–815

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Bandelow B, Baldwin D, Abelli M, et al. Biological markers for anxiety disorders, OCD and PTSD: A consensus statement. Part II: Neurochemistry, neurophysiology and neurocognition. World J Biol Psychia, 2017,18(3):162–214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Morris MC, Compas BE, Garber J. Relations among posttraumatic stress disorder, comorbid major depression, and HPA function: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Psychol Rev, 2012,32(4):301–315

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Cole SW, Nagaraja AS, Lutgendorf SK, et al. Sympathetic nervous system regulation of the tumour microenvironment. Nat Rev Cancer, 2015,15(9):563–572

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Ahern TP, Veres K, Jiang T, et al. Adjustment disorder and type-specific cancer incidence: a Danish cohort study. Acta Oncol, 2018:1–6

    Google Scholar 

  14. Mishra VS, Saranath D. Association between demographic features and perceived social support in the mental adjustment to breast cancer. Psychooncology, 2019,28(3):629–634

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Tejeda S, Stolley MR, Vijayasiri G, et al. Negative psychological consequences of breast cancer among recently diagnosed ethnically diverse women. Psychooncology, 2017,26(12):2245–2252

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Ji LL, Tsai W, Sun XL, et al. The detrimental effects of ambivalence over emotional expression on well-being among Mainland Chinese breast cancer patients: Mediating role of perceived social support. Psychooncology, 2019,28(5):1142–1148

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Chen W, Zheng R, Baade PD, et al. Cancer Statistics in China, 2015. Ca-Cancer J Clin, 2016,66(2):115–132

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Ozdemir D, Tas AF. An investigation of the relationship between social support and coping with stress in women with breast cancer. Psychooncology, 2018,27(9):2214–2219

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Bobevski I, Kissane DW, Vehling S, et al. Latent class analysis differentiation of adjustment disorder and demoralization, more severe depressive and anxiety disorders, and somatic symptoms in patients with cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 2018,27(11):2623–2630

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Reed GM, Mendonca CJ, Esparza P, et al. The WPA-WHO Global Survey of Psychiatrists' Attitudes Towards Mental Disorders Classification. World Psychiatry, 2011,10(2):118–131

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Evans SC, Reed GM, Roberts MC, et al. Psychologists' perspectives on the diagnostic classification of mental disorders: results from the WHO-IUPsyS Global Survey. Int J Psychol, 2013,48(3):177–193

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Bachem R, Perkonigg A, Stein DJ, et al. Measuring the ICD-11 adjustment disorder concept: Validity and sensitivity to change of the Adjustment Disorder - New Module questionnaire in a clinical intervention study. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res, 2017,26(4)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Glaesmer H, Romppel M, Brahler E, et al. Adjustment disorder as proposed for ICD-11: Dimensionality and symptom differentiation. Psychiatry Res, 2015,229(3): 940–948

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Zelviene P, Kazlauskas E, Eimontas J, et al. Adjustment disorder: Empirical study of a new diagnostic concept for ICD-11 in the general population in Lithuania. Eur Psychiat, 2017,40:20–25

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Einsle F, Kollner V, Dannemann S, et al. Development and validation of a self-report for the assessment of adjustment disorders. Psychol Health Med, 2010,15(5): 584–595

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Dobricki M, Komproe IH, de Jong JT, et al. Adjustment disorders after severe life-events in four postconflict settings. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol, 2010, 45(1):39–46

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Lorenz L, Perkonigg A, Maercker A. A socio-interpersonal approach to adjustment disorder: the example of involuntary job loss. Eur J Psychotraumato, 2018,9(1):1425576

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. McDonald ES, Clark AS, Tchou J, et al. Clinical Diagnosis and Management of Breast Cancer. J Nucl Med, 2016,571:9S–16S

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Sun H, Huang H, Ji S, et al. The Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Treat Depression and Anxiety and Improve Quality of Life Among Early-Stage Breast Cancer Patients. Integr Cancer Ther, 2019,18: 1871048005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Fan L, Strasser-Weippl K, Li J, et al. Breast cancer in China. Lancet Oncol, 2014,15(7): E279–E289

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Goss PE, Strasser-Weippl K, Lee-Bychkovsky BL, et al. Challenges to effective cancer control in China, India, and Russia. Lancet Oncol, 2014,15(5):489–538

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Mehnert A. Employment and work-related issues in cancer survivors. Critical Reviews in Oncology/ Hematology, 2011,77(2):109–130

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Yaseen YA. Adjustment disorder: Prevalence, sociodemographic risk factors, and its subtypes in outpatient psychiatric clinic. Asian J Psychiatr, 2017,28:82–85

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Meng Q, Xu L, Zhang Y, et al. Trends in access to health services and financial protection in China between 2003 and 2011: a cross-sectional study. Lancet, 2012,379(9818):805–814

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Arora NK, Finney Rutten LJ, Gustafson DH, et al. Perceived helpfulness and impact of social support provided by family, friends, and health care providers to women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Psychooncology, 2007,16(5):474–486

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Biro K, Geczi L. [The role of exercise in prostate cancer prevention and treatment]. Magy Onkol, 2019,63(1):60–64

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Cenik F, Keilani M, Galid A, et al. First exercise group for Turkish breast cancer patients in Vienna - a pilot project to include Turkish migrants. Disabil Rehabil, 2019:1–6

    Google Scholar 

  38. Morgan JA, Singhal G, Corrigan F, et al. Ceasing exercise induces depression-like, anxiety-like, and impaired cognitive-like behaviours and altered hippocampal gene expression. Brain Res Bull, 2019,148:118–130

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Casey P. Adjustment Disorder: New Developments. Curr Psychiat Rep, 2014,16(6):451

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Finck C, Barradas S, Zenger M, et al. Quality of life in breast cancer patients: Associations with optimism and social support. Int J Clin Health Psychol, 2018,18(1):27–34

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Simard S, Thewes B, Humphris G, et al. Fear of cancer recurrence in adult cancer survivors: a systematic review of quantitative studies. J Cancer Surviv, 2013,7(3):300–322

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Howard-Anderson J, Ganz PA, Bower JE, et al. Quality of Life, Fertility Concerns, and Behavioral Health Outcomes in Younger Breast Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review. JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2012,104(5):386–405

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Moro-Valdezate D, Buch-Villa E, Peiro S, et al. Factors associated with health-related quality of life in a cohort of Spanish breast cancer patients. Breast Cancer-Tokyo, 2014,21(4):442–452

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Brandao T, Schulz MS, Matos PM. Psychological adjustment after breast cancer: a systematic review of longitudinal studies. Psychooncology, 2017,26(7):917–926

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Li J, Zhang M, Zhao L, et al. Evaluation of attitudes and knowledge toward mental disorders in a sample of the Chinese population using a web-based approach. BMC Psychiatry, 2018,18(1):367

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally to this work and should be regarded as co-first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China

    Hai-yan Tang, Ling-chao Deng & Heng Meng

  2. Department of Comprehensive Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China

    Hui-hua Xiong

  3. Wuhan Foreign Languages School, Wuhan, 430022, China

    Yu-xin Fang

  4. Wuhan Mental Health Center, Wuhan, 430022, China

    Jun Zhang

Authors
  1. Hai-yan Tang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hui-hua Xiong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ling-chao Deng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yu-xin Fang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jun Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  6. Heng Meng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Heng Meng.

Ethics declarations

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tang, Hy., Xiong, Hh., Deng, Lc. et al. Adjustment Disorder in Female Breast Cancer Patients: Prevalence and Its Accessory Symptoms. CURR MED SCI 40, 510–517 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-020-2205-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-020-2205-1

Key words