Age-Related Patterns in Cancer Pain and Its Psychosocial Impact: Investigating the Role of Variability in Physical and Mental Health Quality of Life.

Objective: Age-related patterns in cancer pain remain equivocal. Most studies ignore heterogeneity across multiple domains of well-being, and the potential role of physical (PH) and mental health (MH) quality of life (QOL) in these age-related patterns is unknown. We investigated the relationships between age and cancer pain intensity, qualities, and interference, and physical and psychosocial adaptation and the interaction between age and PH and MH QOL on pain and adaptation to cancer pain. Design: In this cross-sectional study, 244 patients with advanced cancer and pain completed measures of pain, QOL, physical function, and psychosocial well-being. Pearson's correlations and ANOVAs assessed relationships between age and demographic and clinical factors, pain, and physical and psychosocial measures. Regression models tested the role of age and its interaction with PH and MH QOL on pain and physical and psychosocial adaptation. Results: Older age was associated with a lower likelihood of receiving an opioid prescription, greater likelihood of having comorbidities, and worse functional status. When we did not account for these factors, age was not associated with pain and most adaptation indices. When we did account for these factors and PH QOL, older age was associated with lower non-neuropathic and neuropathic pain and several indices of psychosocial adaptation. Most interestingly, older age was associated with lower non-neuropathic pain among those with high, but not low, MH QOL. Conclusions: This study addresses knowledge gaps about factors underlying age-related patterns in cancer pain. Impaired MH QOL may be a proxy for age-related patterns in cancer pain. Summary: This study investigated age-related patterns in the experience of cancer pain and the role of quality of life in resilience and vulnerability to pain and adaptation to pain. Older age is associated with lower non-neuropathic pain among those with high, but not low, mental health quality of life, suggesting that impaired mental health quality of life is an important indicator of vulnerability to multidimensional pain outcomes.

Symptom burden and supportive care in patients with acute leukemia.

We examined the symptoms and referral rates to specialized palliative care and psychosocial oncology services of patients with acute leukemia. The Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS) was completed by 249 adult patients with acute leukemia. Patients reported a median of 9 physical and 2 psychological symptoms, and those with intense lack of energy, difficulty sleeping and pain were more likely to report intense worrying/sadness (P<0.001). No patients with moderate-severe pain were referred for specialized symptom control and only 13% of those with severe worrying/sadness were referred to psychiatry/psychology within one month of the assessment. Patients in this population have a substantial symptom burden; further research is needed to determine the benefit of early referral to specialized supportive care services.

Sources of spiritual well-being in advanced cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To test a conceptual model of sources of spiritual well-being in patients facing life-limiting disease. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: 747 patients with stage IV gastrointestinal, breast, genitourinary or gynaecological cancer, or stage IIIA, IIIB or IV lung cancer, recruited from 2002 to 2008. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Spiritual well-being as assessed by the FACIT-Sp-12. RESULTS: Using structural equation modelling, spiritual well-being was specified as being predicted by religiosity, self-esteem, social relatedness and the physical burden of disease. The model had a good fit, Comparative Fit Index=0.96, Non-normed Fit Index=0.94, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation=0.057. Standardised path coefficients relating each factor to spiritual well-being were as follows: religiosity 0.50, social relatedness 0.28, self-esteem 0.26 and physical burden -0.11. CONCLUSIONS: The authors confirmed our theoretical model in which spiritual well-being is positively associated with religiosity, self-esteem and social relatedness, and is negatively associated with physical suffering. Our findings support a multidimensional approach to spiritual well-being that addresses not only religious issues, but also pain and symptom control, and the potentially damaging effects of advanced disease on self-worth and close relationships. The spiritually informed clinical encounter may be one in which sufficient time and opportunity for reflection are afforded to consider illness trajectories and treatment decisions in the context of religious beliefs and personal values, self-worth, support systems and concerns about dependency.

Pathways to distress: the multiple determinants of depression, hopelessness, and the desire for hastened death in metastatic cancer patients.

We tested a model in which psychosocial and disease-related variables act as multiple protective and risk factors for psychological distress in patients with metastatic cancer. We hypothesized that depression and hopelessness constitute common pathways of distress, which mediate the effects of psychosocial and disease-related factors on the desire for hastened death. This model was tested on a cross-sectional sample of 406 patients with metastatic gastrointestinal or lung cancer recruited at outpatient clinics of a Toronto cancer hospital, using structural equation modeling. The results supported the model. High disease burden, insecure attachment, low self-esteem, and younger age were risk factors for depression. Low spiritual well-being was a risk factor for hopelessness. Depression and hopelessness were found to be mutually reinforcing, but distinct constructs. Both depression and hopelessness independently predicted the desire for hastened death, and mediated the effects of psychosocial and disease-related variables on this outcome. The identified risk factors support a holistic approach to palliative care in patients with metastatic cancer, which attends to physical, psychological, and spiritual factors to prevent and treat distress in patients with advanced disease.

An interdisciplinary expert consensus statement on assessment of pain in older persons.

This paper represents an expert-based consensus statement on pain assessment among older adults. It is intended to provide recommendations that will be useful for both researchers and clinicians. Contributors were identified based on literature prominence and with the aim of achieving a broad representation of disciplines. Recommendations are provided regarding the physical examination and the assessment of pain using self-report and observational methods (suitable for seniors with dementia). In addition, recommendations are provided regarding the assessment of the physical and emotional functioning of older adults experiencing pain. The literature underlying the consensus recommendations is reviewed. Multiple revisions led to final reviews of 2 complete drafts before consensus was reached.