Abstract

BARTOLO, Ana et al. Testing age as a moderator of the relationship between depression and healthy functioning in breast and gynecologic cancer patients. Aná. Psicológica [online]. 2018, vol.36, n.2, pp.159-168. ISSN 0870-8231.  https://doi.org/10.14417/ap.1345.

This cross-sectional study aims to explore age as a moderator of the association between emotional distress and functional scales of health-related quality of life. The sample includes 106 outpatients with active breast and gynecologic cancers recruited at the Gynecology Department of the Instituto Português de Oncologia de Coimbra Francisco Gentil. Cancer patients were divided into two groups: younger women <50 years and older women ≥50 years. Participants completed a socio-demographic questionnaire and self-report measures, namely Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) and the six functional scales of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core-30 (EORTC QLQ-C30). Our results show that the older group reported higher depressive symptoms than younger patients. Depressive symptoms influenced healthy functioning, defined by indicators such as physical, emotional and cognitive functioning, similarly in younger and older age groups.

Keywords : Age; Functioning; Depression; Gynecologic cancer; Breast cancer.

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