Infants and toddlers can develop PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) upon receiving a cancer diagnosis or when they undergo taxing treatment with surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy, scientists from the University of Zurich and the University Children’s Hospital Zurich reported in Psycho-Oncology.

PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder which often occurs after a person has been through a frightening experience which may have been perceived as life-threatening or potentially harmful. Symptoms include reliving the event in the form of flashbacks, nightmares, or upsetting memories. Kids with the disorder often re-enact the experience through traumatic plays.

Sufferers try to avoid any places, people, or thoughts reminding them of the incident (triggers); they may also display a lack of interest in normal activities. Some, on the other hand, struggle with vegetative hyperarousal such as insomnia (problems not only getting to sleep, but also staying asleep), hypervigilance (constantly tense and having increased awareness), or problems concentrating.

Anna Graf interviewed 48 mothers, under the supervision of Professor Markus Landolt and with the support of pediatric oncologist Eva Bergsträsser, whose kids were struck with cancer.

All clinical factors of preschool PTSD were found in 9 (18.8%) of the babies and young kids observed. A few symptoms of a stress disorder, most commonly anxiety and flashbacks, were identified in 20 children (41.7%).

Children aged 18 months or more were found to be especially susceptible to developing PTSD. Children whose mothers lived with PTSD were at a considerably higher risk of developing the disorder themselves. The researchers were surprised to see no connection between the development of the disorder and the characteristics of the disease studied.

“The results of our study show that cancer and its treatment can also have a traumatic impact in babyhood and infancy,” said Professor Landolt.

Longer-term PTSD sufferers were commonly found to have developmental delays.Different approaches can be taken to prevent this: “More care should be taken to ensure that potentially stressful procedures, such as bone marrow aspiration, are carried out as child-friendly and painlessly as possible,” revealed the Professor.

Physicians and family members should make sure the child feels safe during hospital stays, relieving any stress or anxiety. Kids should feel as comfortable as possible and receive an enormous amount of psychological support from loved ones during the illness.

Since the symptoms of PTSD are not exactly the same in very young kids as they are in adults or older children, researchers struggled with their investigations.

The infants analyzed were between 8 and 48 months old at the beginning of the study, having an average of 15 months elapsing since their diagnosis, most commonly of solid tumors, lymphomas, leukemia, and brain tumors.

Of those studied:

  • 85% had undergone chemotherapy
  • 56% had an operation
  • 17% received radiotherapy
  • 12.5% had a bone marrow transplant
  • 44% (21 kids) were still receiving treatment at the start of the research

Written by Sarah Glynn