Stress and Quality of Life of Patients with Cancer: The Mediating Role of Mindfulness

Mahlagha Dehghan; Moazame Jazinizade; Alireza Malakoutikhah; Ali Madadimahani; Mohammad Hossein Iranmanesh; Shahriar Oghabian; Fatemeh Mohammadshahi; Fatemehzahra Janfaza; Mohammad Ali Zakeri

doi:10.1155/2020/3289521

Stress and Quality of Life of Patients with Cancer: The Mediating Role of Mindfulness

J Oncol. 2020 Dec 10:2020:3289521. doi: 10.1155/2020/3289521. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Mahlagha Dehghan¹, Moazame Jazinizade², Alireza Malakoutikhah², Ali Madadimahani³, Mohammad Hossein Iranmanesh², Shahriar Oghabian⁴, Fatemeh Mohammadshahi², Fatemehzahra Janfaza³, Mohammad Ali Zakeri⁵

Affiliations

¹ Nursing Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
² Student Research Committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
³ Student Research Committee, School of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
⁴ Student Research Committee, School of Dentistry, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
⁵ Social Determinants of Health Research Centre, Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.

Abstract

Background: Cancer is one of the major health problems worldwide, which in addition to physical disorders, causes stress and anxiety in patients and affects the quality of life of cancer patients. Mindfulness can affect stress and improve the quality of life. This research explained the correlation between stress, quality of life, and mindfulness.

Materials and methods: Two hundred five cancer patients participated in this cross-sectional study. Patients completed the EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30), the Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).

Results: Perceived stress and mindfulness predict nearly 39% of the changes of QOL in cancer patients. In addition, perceived stress was negatively associated with mindfulness and quality of life (P < 0.05). Mindfulness was positively correlated with quality of life (P < 0.05). Mindfulness played a mediating role in the relationship between perceived stress and quality of life (standardized β = -0.13; SE = 0.07, 95% confidence interval = -0.28 to -0.01; P value = 0.04).

Conclusion: In the present study, the variables of mindfulness and perceived stress affected the quality of life of cancer patients. Mindfulness can affect the quality of life of cancer patients directly and indirectly. These results emphasize the importance of mindfulness in the lives of cancer patients.