The Association of Resilience and Age in Individuals with Colorectal Cancer: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study

Research studies often report that older patients with cancer experience less emotional distress than younger patients with cancer. Resilience scores appear to increase as people age, but this had not been assessed in relation to emotional distress in older patients with cancer.

The purpose of this study was to assess the mediating effect of resilience on the associations between age and emotional distress in patients with colorectal cancer. A total of 92 individuals aged 27-87 years diagnosed with colorectal cancer stage II-III 1-5 years prior to enrollment in the study were included.

The investigators found that older age, male gender, and fewer cancer-related problems were associated higher resilience and lower emotional distress. A Structural Equation modeling (SEM) analysis and mediation tests showed that, while controlling for cancer-related problems, resilience mediated the effects of age and gender on emotional distress.

Reference:

Cohen M, Baziliansky S, Beny A. (2014). The association of resilience and age in individuals with colorectal cancer: An exploratory cross-sectional study. Journal of Geriatric Oncology, 5(1): 33-9.