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Use of distress and depression thermometers to measure psychosocial morbidity among southern European cancer patients

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Abstract

Goals of work

Recent literature has indicated the need for rapid evaluation of psychosocial issues secondary to cancer. Because of the problems of routine use of psychometric instruments, short instruments such as visual analogue scales or one-item 0–10 scales have been developed as valid assessment alternatives.

Patients and methods

A study was conducted to examine the role of two 0–10 scales in measuring emotional stress (distress thermometer, DT) and depressed mood (mood thermometer, MT), respectively, in a multicenter study carried out in southern European countries (Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland). A convenience sample of 312 cancer outpatients completed the DT and MT and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS).

Main results

DT was more significantly associated HADS anxiety than HADS depression while MT was related both to HADS anxiety and depression. The correlation of MT with HADS was higher than DT. A cutoff point >4 on the DT maximized sensitivity (65%) and specificity (79%) for general psychosocial morbidity while a cutoff >5 identified more severe “caseness” (sensitivity=70%; specificity=73%). On the MT, sensitivity and specificity for general psychosocial morbidity were 85% and 72% by using the cutoff score >3. A score >4 on the MT was associated with a sensitivity of 78% and a specificity of 77% in detecting more severe caseness.

Conclusions

Two simple instruments, the DT and the MT, were found to have acceptable levels of sensitivity and specificity in detecting psychosocial morbidity. Compared to the HADS, however, the mood MT performed better than the DT.

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Acknowledgements

The study was funded by the European Community (European Commission DG Health and Consumer Protection—Agreement with the University of Ferrara—SI2.307317 2000CVGG2-026). The research group wish to thank all patients and colleagues for participating in the study and Paul Packer for revising the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psycho-Oncology Unit, Hospital Duran i Reynals, Institut Català d’ Oncologia, Av. Gran Via s/n, km 2,7, 08907, L’ Hospitalet, Barcelona, Spain

    Francisco Gil

  2. Department of Behavior and Communication, Section of Psychiatry, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

    Luigi Grassi

  3. Department of Mental Health and General University, S. Anna Hospital, Ferrara, Italy

    Luigi Grassi

  4. Psychotherapy Service, Hospital S. José, Lisbon, Portugal

    Luzia Travado

  5. Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Independent University, Lisbon, Portugal

    Luzia Travado

  6. Cantonal Socio-Psychiatry Organization, Lugano, Switzerland

    Michele Tomamichel

  7. Prevention and Cancer Control Service, Hospital Duran i Reynals, Institut Català d’Oncologia, Barcelona, Spain

    Juan Ramón Gonzalez

Authors
  1. Francisco Gil
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  2. Luigi Grassi
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  3. Luzia Travado
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  4. Michele Tomamichel
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  5. Juan Ramón Gonzalez
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Consortia

The SEPOS Group

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francisco Gil.

Additional information

The Southern European Psycho-Oncology Study (SEPOS) Group participating in the project “Improving health staff’s communication and assessment skills of psychosocial morbidity and quality of life in cancer patients: a study of southern European countries,” (principal investigator Luigi Grassi, M.D., University of Ferrara, Italy) was formed by the following persons: Paola Zanotti (CH); Purificación Lluch (E), Maria Francisca Hollenstein (E), Jorge Maté (E), Katia Magnani, Ph.D. (I), Elena Rossi, Ph.D. (I), Silvia Sabato, Ph.D. (I), Giulia Tralli, Ph.D. (I), Cidália Ventura (P); Cristina Martins (P); Sónia Cunha (P); Rute Pires (P).

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The SEPOS Group., Gil, F., Grassi, L. et al. Use of distress and depression thermometers to measure psychosocial morbidity among southern European cancer patients. Support Care Cancer 13, 600–606 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-005-0780-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-005-0780-0

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