Obesity and Psychosocial Well-being Among Cancer Patients and Survivors

Objective: As the association between obesity and cancer receives increasing attention, studies have begun to examine the potential impact of excess weight on psychosocial domains during treatment and survivorship. The current study will examine the effect of weight status on psychosocial outcomes among patients diagnosed with breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer.

Methods: This retrospective study included 4159 patients over the age of 55 who were diagnosed with postmenopausal breast (52.2%), prostate (38.7%), or colon cancer (9.1%). Prior to treatment, patients were screened for problem-related distress using a 33-item touch screen-based instrument. Descriptive statistics were generated for each cancer type and one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) used to determine significant differences in distress by weight (nonobese: <30 kg/m vs obese: ≥30 kg/m ).

Results: A higher prevalence of biopsychosocial problem-related distress was reported by patients with breast cancer (M = 4.3) compared with prostate (M = 2.8) and colon cancer (M = 3.8). Obese breast and prostate cancer patients reported higher levels of problem-related distress compared with nonobese patients (P < .05), whereas an opposite trend was noted for patients with colon cancer.

Conclusion: The current study found notable obesity-related differences among patients diagnosed with postmenopausal breast cancer or prostate cancer, with excess weight consistently associated with poorer psychosocial outcomes. These findings among a large cohort of patients provide insight into the impact of obesity during the cancer care trajectory and can provide guidance in the development and implementation of supportive care services for this "at-risk" population.