Mental health outcomes during colorectal cancer survivorship: a review of the literature

ObjectiveThis article reviews literature on adults' mental health outcomes during acute and long-term colorectal cancer (CRC) survivorship. MethodsWe identified articles that included at least one measure of psychological symptoms or mental quality of life or well-being through a search of databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and PsycARTICLES). Articles were published between January 2004 and April 2015. ResultsA significant proportion of CRC survivors experience clinically meaningful levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms or reduced mental well-being across the trajectory of the illness. Demographic, medical, and psychosocial predictors of mental health outcomes were identified. However, few studies were theory-driven, and gaps remain in our understanding of risk and protective factors with respect to mental health outcomes, especially during long-term CRC survivorship. ConclusionsTheory-driven longitudinal research with larger samples is required to identify subgroups of CRC survivors with different trajectories of psychological adjustment. Such research would assess adjustment as a function of internal resources (e.g., personality and coping) and external resources (e.g., finances and social support) to inform future interventions for CRC survivors. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.