American Journal of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention
Abstract
Background: Little is known about age differences in the associations of anxiety, depression, and psychological distress (PD) with cancer.Objectives: We estimated the prevalence of cancer in the United States (US) adults and examined the associations between mental health problems and cancer, and tested the related age differences.Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study (n=34,505, 3,118 had cancer) from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data. Weighted univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).Results: The overall prevalence of cancer is 8.6% (7.6% for males and 9.4 % for females). The prevalence increased with age (2.0%, 9.3% and 24.3% for age groups 18-49, 50-64 and 65+ years, respectively). The prevalence of anxiety, depression, and PD was significantly higher in cancer patients than in non-cancers (26% vs. 18%, 20% vs.13%, and 13% vs. 9%, respectively). Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that being female, aging, anxiety, and PD were positively associated with cancer (p0.05). Age group revealed significant interactions with anxiety and PD, in relation to cancer. Stratified by age groups, PD was positively associated with cancer just in young adults (18-49 years) while anxiety showed a stronger association with cancer in young adults and elderly (65+ years).Conclusions: The prevalence of mental health problems was higher among US adults who had cancer. The associations between mental health problems and cancer varied across ages. Effective strategies may be needed to manage these mental health conditions among patients with cancer at each age
