Seasonal fluctuations in psychological distress amongst women diagnosed with early breast cancer receiving radiotherapy

Seasonal effects on patients diagnosed with depression/anxiety‐related psychological disorders have varying impacts on symptom severity. Seasonal changes in psychological distress may be due to decreased daylight exposure during the fall/winter seasons. Patients receiving radiation therapy (RT) for early‐stage invasive breast cancer (EIBC) are at high risk for developing depressive symptoms. Of interest is whether seasonal factors influence the psychological symptoms of patients being treated for EIBC.

[1]  S. Patten,et al.  Seasonal variation in major depressive episode prevalence in Canada , 2016, Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences.

[2]  C. Nemeroff,et al.  The biology of depression in cancer and the relationship between depression and cancer progression , 2014, International review of psychiatry.

[3]  Sharon M. Watanabe,et al.  The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System, a proposed tool for distress screening in cancer patients: development and refinement , 2012, Psycho-oncology.

[4]  B. Penninx,et al.  Seasonality in depressive and anxiety symptoms among primary care patients and in patients with depressive and anxiety disorders; results from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety , 2011, BMC psychiatry.

[5]  A. Carson,et al.  Frequency, clinical associations, and longitudinal course of major depressive disorder in adults with cerebral glioma. , 2011, Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

[6]  H. Kraemer,et al.  Decrease in depression symptoms is associated with longer survival in patients with metastatic breast cancer: a secondary analysis. , 2011, Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

[7]  W. Linden,et al.  Depression as a predictor of disease progression and mortality in cancer patients , 2009, Cancer.

[8]  Mary Pepping,et al.  Major depression after breast cancer: a review of epidemiology and treatment. , 2008, General hospital psychiatry.

[9]  S. Ancoli-Israel,et al.  Neuroendocrine-immune mechanisms of behavioral comorbidities in patients with cancer. , 2008, Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

[10]  M. Falagas,et al.  The effect of psychosocial factors on breast cancer outcome: a systematic review , 2007, Breast Cancer Research.

[11]  M. Massie.  Prevalence of depression in patients with cancer. , 2004, Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Monographs.

[12]  C. Thompson,et al.  Prevalence of seasonal affective disorder in primary care; a comparison of the seasonal health questionnaire and the seasonal pattern assessment questionnaire. , 2004, Journal of affective disorders.

[13]  C. Dowrick,et al.  Seasonal and nonseasonal depression: how do they differ? Symptom profile, clinical and family history in a general population sample. , 2002, Journal of affective disorders.

[14]  A. Magnússon,et al.  The prevalence of seasonal affective disorder is low among descendants of Icelandic emigrants in Canada. , 1993, Archives of general psychiatry.

[15]  Eduardo Bruera,et al.  The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS): A Simple Method for the Assessment of Palliative Care Patients , 1991, Journal of palliative care.

[16]  A. Ruíz,et al.  Regional and seasonal influence in patient’s toxicity to adjuvant chemotherapy for early breast cancer , 2010, Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

[17]  P. Buckley,et al.  Neuroendocrine-Immune Mechanisms of Behavioral Comorbidities in Patients With Cancer , 2009 .

[18]  A. Reichenberg,et al.  Cytokines, "depression due to a general medical condition," and antidepressant drugs. , 1999, Advances in experimental medicine and biology.

[19]  R. Dantzer,et al.  Sickness behavior as a new target for drug development. , 1992, Trends in pharmacological sciences.

[20]  H. Pope,et al.  The Psychobiology of bulimia , 1987 .