Illness-related worry among cancer patients: prevalence, severity, and content

The present study assessed the prevalence, severity, and other parameters of illness-related worry among 83 cancer patients receiving active treatment for their illness. Participants completed questionnaires assessing a variety of worry dimensions. In addition, a family member of each patient completed a brief questionnaire regarding their perception of the patient's illness-related worry. Nurse ratings of patients' clinic-related behaviors were obtained. Fifty-one percent (n = 43) of patients reported worry to be at least "somewhat of a problem." Fifteen percent (n = 12) reported it to be a significant to severe problem. Significant correlations included patients self-rating of worry and: nurse rating of clinic behavior, total score on a Worry Content Scale, ability to stop worrying once started, and impact of worry on mood and functioning. Rating by the significant other of how much of a problem worry was for the patient and whether the patient was a worrier preillness was also significantly correlated. There were no significant differences between "worriers" and "nonworriers" on demographic or disease variables. A logistic regression model using the categories of "worries" or "nonworriers" as a dependent variable found that women and patients reporting poor social support were more likely to report a problem with worry. However, a large amount of the variance remained unexplained.