• Luluh Y Alsughayer, Lamees A Altamimi, Futoon S Alsaleh, Lamya Alsaghan, Ibrahim Alfurayh, Nashwa M Abdel-Aziz, Khalid A Alsaleh, and Fahad D Alosaimi.
• From the College of Medicine (Alsughayer, Altamimi, Alsaleh, Alsaghan); from the Psychiatry Department (Alfuraih, Alosaimi); Hematology-Oncology Center (Abdel-Aziz, Alsaleh), King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; and from the Department of Medical Oncology (Abdel-Aziz), South Egypt Cancer Institute, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.
• Saudi Med J. 2021 Jul 1; 42 (7): 761-768.

ObjectivesTo estimate the prevalence of distress in patients with cancer in Saudi Arabia and to identify common psychosocial stressors in these patients. We also looked for associations between distress and psychological, sociodemographic, and medical factors.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was performed in the oncology outpatient clinic at King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from January 2018 to December 2019. It included 280 patients with breast cancer, colorectal cancer, or lymphoma. Sociodemographic information was collected using questionnaire, along with information on medical history and any psychiatric history. Distress was assessed using the Distress Thermometer and Problem List. Satisfaction with social support was rated using the visual analog scale. All patients were screened for depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item depression scale and anxiety using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale.ResultsThe prevalence of distress in our study population was found to be 46%. Distress was associated with several practical, family, emotional, and physical stressors in the problem list. Logistic regression identified predictors of distress to be anxiety (odds ratio [OR] 8.7, confidence interval [CI] 1.98-38.24, p=0.002) and receiving radiotherapy (OR 3.6, CI 1.33-9.99, p=0.009), while Saudi nationality (OR 0.22, CI 0.05-0.95, p=0.037) and stage I cancer (OR 0.18, CI 0.05-1.40, p=0.002) were associated with low distress.ConclusionApproximately half of cancer patients were found to have distress. Anxiety, advanced cancer stage, and radiotherapy were independently associated with distress.Copyright: © Saudi Medical Journal.

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