Stress Among Patients with Breast Complaints in Sulaimani: A Cross-Sectional Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56056/Keywords:
Breast cancer, Prevalence, Perceived stress, StressAbstract
Background and Objectives: Breast complaints are a significant health concern for women globally, often accompanied by heightened stress levels which can exacerbate psychological distress. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and levels of stress, as measured by the Perceived Stress Scale, among women with breast complaints in Breast disease management center in Sulaimani, Iraq.
Methods: A cross-sectional study design was utilized in this research, which spanned from January to June 2024 at Breast disease management center in Sulaimani. Participants included 200 women visiting a breast disease management center, selected using an available sampling technique. The Perceived Stress Scale questionnaire was administered to assess stress levels, with scores ranging from 0-40, and categorized into low (0-13), moderate (14-26), and high (27-40) stress.
Results: Based on the Perceived Stress Scale distribution results among women, it was found that 93 (46.5%) women had high levels of stress, 104 (52%) women had moderate stress levels, and three (1.5%) had low-stress levels. The Perceived Stress Scale was significantly associated with the participants' educational levels in the study, with individuals having lower educational attainment exhibiting higher levels of stress, and moderate to severe stress levels being more prevalent among these individuals p-value 0.05.
Conclusion: Patients with breast problems experienced high levels of stress. Therefore, designing interventions based on stress-coping methods can help alleviate their stress and may prevent other complications.
Downloads
References
1. Stachs A, Stubert J, Reimer T, Hartmann S. Benign breast disease in women. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2019;116(33-34):565-74. https://doi.org/10.3238/arztebl.2019.0565/
2. Malherbe K, Khan M, Fatima S. Fibrocystic breast disease. In: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024.
3. Manosso LM, Gasparini CR, Réus GZ, Pavlovic ZM. Definitions and concepts of stress. In: Pavlovic ZM, editor. Glutamate and neuropsychiatric disorders: Current and emerging treatments. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2022. p. 27-63.
4. Alagizy HA, Soltan MR, Soliman SS, Hegazy NN, Gohar SF. Anxiety, depression, and perceived stress among breast cancer patients: Single institute experience. MECPsych. 2020;27(1):29. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43045-020-00036-x/
5. Borgi M, Collacchi B, Ortona E, Cirulli F. Stress and coping in women with breast cancer: Unravelling the mechanisms to improve resilience. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2020; 119:406-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.10.011/
6. Dinapoli L, Colloca G, Di Capua B, Valentini V. Psychological aspects to consider in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Curr Oncol Rep. 2021;23(3):38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-021-01049-3/
7. Bahceli PZ, Zorba P, Bahceli, Ulker G. The relationship between perceived stress and coping styles in women following breast cancer surgery: A cross-sectional descriptive study. Prog Health Sci. 2024;3(2):43-50. https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0054.2475/
8. Al-Hanawi MK, Hashmi R, Almubark S, Qattan AMN, Pulok MH. Socioeconomic inequalities in uptake of breast cancer screening among Saudi women: A cross-sectional analysis of a national survey. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(6):1-10. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17062056/
9. Amirzehni J, Zareipour MA, Mirghafourvand M. Perceived stress and its socio-demographic predictors in Iranian women receiving treatment for breast cancer. Fam Med Prim Care Rev. 2023;25(4):387-92. https://doi.org/10.5114/fmpcr.2023.132611/
10. Mounjid C, M’rabti H, Alaoui Sossé L, Laraqui A, Chajès V, El Khannoussi B, et al. Validation of the Moroccan version of the Cohen perceived stress scale (PSS-10) among women with breast cancer. Ann Cancer Res Ther. 2022;30(2):100-5. https://doi.org/10.4993/acrt.30.100/
11. Soria‐Reyes LM, Cerezo MV, Alarcón R, Blanca MJ. Psychometric properties of the perceived stress scale (PSS‐10) with breast cancer patients. Stress Health. 2023;39(1):115-24.
12. Höhne E, Fekete SP, Schild J, Zander L. Perceived stress, individual psychological resources, and social resources among computer science students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Front Educ. 2022; 7:1-15. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.840216/
13. Godoy LD, Rossignoli MT, Delfino-Pereira P, Garcia-Cairasco N, de Lima Umeoka EH. A comprehensive overview on stress neurobiology: Basic concepts and clinical implications. Front Behav Neurosci. 2018;12(1):1-10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00127/
14. Ali SAA, Diab S, Elmahallawy EK. Exploring the psychological stress, anxiety factors, and coping mechanisms of critical care unit nurses during the COVID-19 outbreak in Saudi Arabia. Front Public Health. 2021; 9:767517. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.767517/
15. Ford DM, Budworth L, Lawton R, Teale EA, O'Connor DB. In-hospital stress and patient outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2023;18(3). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282789/
16. Hill D, Conner M, Clancy F, Moss R, Wilding S, Bristow M, et al. Stress and eating behaviours in healthy adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Health Psychol Rev. 2022;16(2):280-304. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2021.1923406/
17. Hashemi S, Hormozi M, Allahyari A, Anoushirvani A, Ameri Ahmad Z, Ghasemipour S. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress in patients with breast cancer in Southeast Iran in 2019: A cross-sectional study. Oncol Clin Pract. 2020;16(1):1-10. https://doi.org/10.5603/OCP.2020.0015/
18. Chiriac VF, Baban A, Dumitrascu DL. Psychological stress and breast cancer incidence: A systematic review. Clujul Med. 2018;91(1):18-26. https://doi.org/10.15386/cjmed-924/
19. Cerezo MV, Soria-Reyes LM, Pajares B, Gómez-Millán J, Blanca MJ. Development and psychometric properties of the stressors in breast cancer scale. Front Psychol. 2023;14(1):1-10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1102169/
20. Ahsanul Haque R, Israt Jahan B. Mental stress, socioeconomic status, and academic performance: A critical analysis among university students of Bangladesh. In: Delfín O-S, editor. Education Annual Volume 2023. Rijeka: IntechOpen; 2023. p. Ch. 8.
21. Armandpishe S, Pakzad R, Jandaghian-Bidgoli M, Abdi F, Sardashti M, Soltaniha K. Investigating factors affecting the prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression among citizens of Karaj city: A population-based cross-sectional study. Heliyon. 2023;9(6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16901/
22. Mehri A, Baigi V, Rahimi D, Nedjat S. Childhood socioeconomic status and adulthood mental health: Results from the survey on employees of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. J Public Health. 2021;44(1):10-7. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdab004/
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Hemn Mohammed Saeed Abdalla, Rebwar Ghareeb Hama
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The copyright on any article published in AMJ (The Scientific Journal of Kurdistan Higher Council of Medical Specialties )is retained by the author(s) in agreement with the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial ShareAlike License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
