Perceived Stress and Sociodemographic Factors Among Saudi Women with Breast Cancer: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: and objective: Globally, breast cancer (BC) raises global health concerns, being the most common cancer. Women with BC experience a significant increase in perception of stress. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the stress levels and associated sociodemographic and clinical factors among BC women in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and May 2025. Women diagnosed with BC, who were at least 18 years old, were recruited conveniently from outpatient and inpatient departments in King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected in the Arabic language through self-reported questionnaires, including sociodemographic/clinical characteristics and the Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27. Results: A total of 200 participants were included in the study. The mean stress perception score was 26.52 ± 7.34. A high proportion (71.5%) of the sample reported elevated stress. A significant association was observed between age and stress levels. Most women aged 20-40 and 41-60 reported high stress, compared to women in the 61-80 age group (p = 0.003). Among all predictors, age was the only variable significantly associated with stress scores. Increasing age was associated with lower stress levels (B = -0.179, p = 0.013), indicating that younger participants tended to report higher stress. This corresponds to an adjusted decrease of approximately 1.8 points in the PSS-10 score per 10-year increase in age. Although participants with Stage IV cancer showed higher stress scores compared to those with Stage I cancer, this association approached but did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.054). Conclusions: This study highlights the substantial psychological burden experienced by women living with BC in Saudi Arabia. The majority of participants reported high levels of perceived stress. Younger women were particularly vulnerable to elevated stress. These findings highlight the need for targeted psychosocial support within oncology care to improve emotional well-being and quality of life.