Clusters of Psychological Symptoms in Breast Cancer: Is There a Common Psychological Mechanism?

This study examined cross-sectional and prospective relationships between subjective (experiential avoidance, expressive suppression, and cognitive reappraisal) and objective (high-frequency heart rate variability) measures of ER and clusters of psychological symptoms among women receiving radiation therapy for breast cancer. Method A total of 81 women completed a battery of self-report scales before (T1) and after (T2) radiotherapy, including measures of anxiety, depression, fear of cancer recurrence, insomnia, fatigue, pain, and cognitive impairments. Resting high-frequency heart rate variability was measured at T1. Results Latent profile analyses identified between 2 and 3 clusters of patients with similar levels of symptoms at T1 and T2 and with a similar profile of symptom changes between T1 and T2. Discriminant analyses showed that higher levels of avoidance and suppression predicted membership in symptom clusters that included more severe symptoms cross-sectionally at T1 and at T2 (both P values
Source: Cancer Nursing - Category: Nursing Tags: ARTICLES Source Type: research