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Therapeutic Massage for Psychological Well-being in Geriatric Oncology
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Psychological factors affecting oncology conditions
Luigi Grassi1, Bruno Biancosino, Luciana Marmai
1Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences of Communication and Behavior, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
Advances in Psychosomatic Medicine
|August 9, 2007
Summary
Psycho-oncology research faces challenges with standard diagnostic systems. The Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR) better identifies psychological distress like health anxiety and demoralization in cancer patients.
Area of Science:
- Psycho-oncology
- Psychosomatic Medicine
- Cancer Psychology
Background:
- Psychological factors significantly impact cancer patients.
- Traditional diagnostic systems (DSM, ICD) present challenges in classifying psychological distress in cancer.
- Psycho-oncology has evolved since the 1950s to address these complexities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the utility of the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR) in identifying psychological distress in cancer patients.
- To compare the diagnostic yield of DCPR with standard DSM-IV criteria.
- To explore the relationship between DCPR constructs and coping mechanisms in cancer.
Main Methods:
- Application of the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR) to cancer patients.
- Assessment of specific DCPR dimensions: health anxiety, demoralization, and alexithymia.
- Comparison of DCPR diagnoses with formal DSM-IV diagnoses.
- Correlation analysis with coping strategies (Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer) and symptom assessment (Brief Symptom Inventory).
Main Results:
- DCPR dimensions like health anxiety (37.7%), demoralization (28.8%), and alexithymia (26%) are prevalent in cancer patients.
- A low overlap exists between formal DSM-IV diagnoses and DCPR syndromes, with 58% of "non-cases" by DSM-IV meeting DCPR criteria.
- DCPR effectively characterizes psychosocial aspects, correlating with coping (hopelessness) but not with quantitative symptom scores.
Conclusions:
- The Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR) offers a more precise method for identifying psychological distress in cancer patients compared to standard systems.
- DCPR identifies significant psychological syndromes, such as demoralization and health anxiety, often missed by DSM-IV.
- Further research is needed to explore the influence of DCPR constructs (e.g., alexithymia) on cancer prognosis and psychosocial factors.
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