The effects of life events, coping style on the onset of upper digestive tract cancer / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the effects of psychosocial f actors including life events and coping style on the onset of upper digestive tr act cancer. Methods A total of 98 patients with upper diges tive tract cancer were chosen as experiment group, while 98 healthy persons were chosen as control group, who matched with experiment group in habits, age, sex and education background. Both the two groups were studied by Life Event Scale a nd Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire. The difference between the contributio n of psychosocial factors in the two groups was analyzed. Results The stimulating amount and frequency of negative life events in experimen t group were much higher than those in control group, while those of its positiv e life events were much lower. The total score of passive coping style in experi ment group was higher than that in control group, while the total score of posit ive coping style was lower. Conclusion Stress may be one of the etiological factors in causing upper digestive tract cancer, and passive co ping style may also be a risk factor for the etiology of upper digestive tract c ancer.