Resumen

Introduction: little is known about how metabolic comorbidity affects stress response during breast cancer (BRCa) after a recent diagnosis. Objective: to evaluate the physiological and psychological differences between the BRCa-RSxM groups and those with BRCa alone, and the influence of psychological variables and comorbidity in terms of stress response. Method: comparative non-experimental causal-descriptive study. Fifty patients recently diagnosed with BRCa (25 with BRCa and 25 with BRCa-RSxM) in a convenience sample participated. Frontal muscle activity and skin conductance were recorded in response to stressful conditions. Quality of life, perceived stress, and coping strategies scales were used. Results: the presence of comorbidity (p = .001; p = .02), perceived stress (p = .004; p = .03), and social quality of life (p = .01; p = .01) influenced muscle activation and conductance during the emotional stressor (ES). Putting the stressful situation into perspective as a cognitive coping strategy was related to a decrease in activation (p = .04). An increase in physiological activation during the cognitive stressor (CS) was influenced by comorbidity (p = .05) and quality of social life (p = .01; p = .01). In turn, a decrease was influenced by the increase in age (p = .02). Discussion: physiological vulnerability, coping strategies (behavioral and cognitive), and prior learning influenced the resulting reaction during the stressful situation. Conclusion: a metabolic disease, as a prelude to an oncological, may cause physiological vulnerability to respond adequately to stressful conditions.

Palabras clave: breast cancer comorbidity stress psychophysiology clinical psychology.

2020-03-17   |   210 visitas   |   Evalua este artículo 0 valoraciones

Vol. 42 Núm.3. Mayo-Junio 2019 Pags. 111-20 Salud Ment 2019; 42(3)