The impact of experiential avoidance on anxiety and depressive disorders in hematological cancer patients

Anxiety disorders and/or depressive disorders co-occurring with hematological cancer are an additional burden for patients. Experiential avoidance (EA; efforts to avoid negative emotions, thoughts, or memories) is an empirically evident transdiagnostic factor for the onset and maintenance of anxiety and depressive disorders in non-cancer populations. There is lack of evidence on the impact of EA in predicting anxiety and depression in cancer patients. A total of 291 patients with hematological cancer (60% male, mean age 55 years) were included in this cross-sectional observational study. Participants were assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 mental disorders (SCID-5). EA was assessed via self-report using the Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (BEAQ). Hierarchical binomial logistic regression was conducted in order to estimate the impact of EA on anxiety and depressive disorders. A total of 38 patients (13.3%) met the diagnostic criteria for a current anxiety disorder, while 49 patients (17.2%) met the criteria for a current depressive disorder. In bivariate analyses, EA was significantly elevated in patients with an anxiety disorder in comparison to those without (54.4 vs. 48.9; p = 0.01). The same was true for depressive disorder (54.9 vs. 48.6; p < 0.01). After controlling for relevant sociodemographic and medical factors, EA did not predict anxiety or depressive disorder in separate regression models. The presence of an anxiety disorder was significantly predicted by female sex, younger age and elevated comorbidity burden. In contrast, the presence of a depressive disorder was predicted by comorbidity burden. Sociodemographic and medical predictors have greater predictive potential than EA regarding current anxiety and depressive disorder in hematological cancer patients.