Source: MedScape Today Partners of patients with newly diagnosed head and neck cancer are significantly more likely to meet research criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than patients themselves, according to a study presented here at the Society of Behavioral Medicine 32nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions. Donna Posluszny, PhD, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and colleagues from there and from the University of Texas, Arlington, Texas, found that 8 of 20 partners of patients with head and neck cancer (20%) had a mean score on the PTSD Checklist (also known as the PCL) of 50 or higher, compared with only 2 of 40 patients (5%). Patients who score at least 50 on the PCL meet the criteria for PTSD. "This is not a formal diagnosis of PTSD but for research purposes, a score of 50 or higher is meaningful," Dr. Posluszny told delegates. "And we were very surprised to find that partners of patients with newly diagnosed head and neck cancer experience greater amounts of traumatic stress than patients themselves do." For the study, investigators recruited 40 dyads (2 individuals regarded as a pair) where the partner was considered to be a "romantic" partner. Some 78% of the patients were male, while most partners were female; all but a small minority were married. Almost all were white, and, as a cohort, they were somewhat better educated and made more money than the majority of patients with head and neck cancer. Sixty-five percent of them also had [...]