Loneliness in patients with cancer: Associations with perceived social support, functional Independence, and...

Loneliness has emerged as a psychosocial issue in oncology, with implications for emotional well-being, social and daily functioning, and adaptation to illness. However, its relationship with perceived social support and functional independence in patients with cancer remains insufficiently characterized.

To analyze loneliness in patients with cancer and its association with sociodemographic, psychosocial, and functional variables.

We conducted a cross-sectional study in 153 adults with cancer recruited from the onco-haematology day hospital at the Complejo Asistencial Universitario de Salamanca, Spain. Global loneliness was assessed with the UCLA Loneliness Scale, and emotional and social loneliness with the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale. Perceived social support was evaluated with the Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire, quality of life with the EORTC QLQ-C30, functional independence with the Barthel Index, and anxiety and depressive symptoms with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Correlation analyses and multivariable linear and logistic regression models were performed.

The median UCLA loneliness score was 36 (range 20-79), indicating variability in perceived loneliness. Higher loneliness was associated with lower perceived social support, greater depressive and anxiety symptoms, and lower functional independence. In multivariable analyses, perceived social support and functional independence remained independently associated with lower loneliness, while depressive symptoms were associated with higher loneliness only in the linear model.

Loneliness was more closely associated with psychosocial and functional than sociodemographic variables. These findings support loneliness assessment in comprehensive cancer care and suggest that social support and functional status may be key loneliness correlates.