Assessment of Psychological Stress Status among Iranian Cancer Patients

Objectives: We aimed to assess psychological stress status among Iranian patients with cancer compared with non-cancer individuals. Patients and Methods: In a case-control study one hundred consecutive cancer patients who referred to Fatemieh hospital in Semnan, Iran (regardless of the type of cancer and its stage) were enrolled. One hundred matched non-cancer individuals were selected as controls. The status of psychological stress was assessed using a questionnaire. Results: The prevalence of psychological stress was 70% among cancer patients and 40% among controls (p<0.001). In a multivariate logistic regression model, the prevalence of psychological stress was shown to be higher among cancer patients compared to controls (OR = 3.01, 95% CI: 1.46- 6.19, p=0.003) (Table 1). Conclusion: Regardless of the type of cancer, Iranian cancer patients suffer a high level of psychological stress which indicates the need for screening for stress among them. Keywords: Stress cancer psychology, Iran.