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The following is a summary of “Role of Negative Affect and Experiential Avoidance in Postsurgical Pain and Fatigue Among Norwegian Women With Breast Cancer,” published in the January 2025 issue of Pain by Rosenblom et al.
Psychological factors influence postsurgical outcomes, but the subacute recovery phase in women undergoing breast cancer surgery is often underexplored despite its impact on pain, fatigue, and QoL.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to investigate the predictive role of negative affect and experiential avoidance on postsurgical symptoms during acute and subacute recovery.
They enrolled 189 women who met inclusion criteria and completed the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II) before surgery to assess negative affect and experiential avoidance. Postsurgical pain and fatigue were measured at hospital discharge and again 3–4 weeks later using a 100 mm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS).
The results showed higher presurgical negative affect and experiential avoidance predicted increased postsurgical symptoms (all P ≤ 0.027). In multivariate regression analyses, the AAQ-II remained a predictor of acute pain unpleasantness (P = 0.011) and fatigue (P = 0.048), with modest effect estimates.
Investigators concluded the importance of assessing psychological factors when developing individualized treatment plans to optimize recovery for women undergoing breast cancer surgery.
Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejp.4788
