A new investigation has recently determined that women with low and average incomes who are diagnosed with precancerous conditions are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression than their peers with higher incomes. The study focused on ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a precancerous breast condition that can be treated to some extent, but that requires a lot of medical care. The research thus establishes a new target for psychosocial interventions, in women suffering from financial hardship, a paper published in the latest issue of the top journal Cancer shows.

“Women with medium or low socioeconomic status are forced to manage competing stressors: the stress of financial hardship and the stress of a major health event. Because these concomitant stressors leave women vulnerable to escalating distress after their DCIS diagnosis, women with medium or low financial status may benefit from psychosocial interventions,” Ohio State University College of Public Health expert Janet de Moor, MPH, PhD, explains, quoted by PhysOrg.

Education and financial statuses (the socioeconomic status) of women were analyzed in terms of their impact on mental and physical health before, but this is the first paper to look at the psychological adjustment that low- to medium-income females experience following a major stressor. This was represented through the news of their health, which is admittedly the worst kind possible, since it threatens the very being of an individual. The correlations between distress and the socioeconomic status were also investigated in cases where the women that were part of the study received strong social support.

The investigation focused on 487 women, all of which had enrolled in the research. They were asked two sets of questions, one at the beginning of the test period, and another one nine months in it. The questionnaires were aimed at gauging the sociodemographic, psychosocial, and clinical characteristics of the participants when the study ensued and then later on. The results were very clear. Each individual's financial status was clearly linked to the level and intensity of anxiety and depression they experienced. Oddly enough, the level of education each of the participants had influenced the end-results to a minimal extent.