Anxiety and depression in Iranian breast cancer patients before and after diagnosis

Abstract

A prospective study was conducted to measure anxiety and depression in Iranian breast cancer patients before and after diagnosis using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The HADS was administered at two points in time: before diagnosis and 3 months after. In all, 168 breast cancer patients were interviewed. While 48% of patients had severe symptoms of anxiety at both baseline and follow-up, more than 60% of patients had no symptoms of depressive illness at pre-and post-diagnosis assessments. Comparing anxiety and depression before diagnosis and after 3 months, there were no significant differences between patients' scores on anxiety (P = 0.42) and depression (P = 0.98) subscales. The results showed that patients with advanced disease and a lower performance status were more anxious and experienced more depression. The study findings suggest that severe symptoms of anxiety are the most frequent symptoms in Iranian breast cancer patients. It seems that during the process of diagnosis and 3 months after psychological morbidity persists in patients who suffer from breast cancer.

The Effect of Anxiety and Depression on Quality of Life in Turkish Non Small Lung Cancer Patients

“…Global quality of life is a strong prognostic factor for survival in patients with lung cancer [23,30]. In our study, depression and anxiety were high in NSCLC cancer patients.…”

“…Montazeri et al [23] reported that 10% of lung cancer patients had severe anxiety before diagnosis. Boncu et al [21] found that 12% of Turkish lung cancer patients were anxious.…”

Changes in Body Image in Women with Early Stage Breast Cancer

“…The BR-23 is a supplementary module of the EORTC QLQ C30, which covers the physical, personal, cognitive, emotional, and social domains. (Montazeri et al, 2000, Sprangers et al, 1996 The EORTC QLQ BR-23 incorporates two functional scales (Body Image and Sexual Functioning) and three symptom scales (Arm Symptoms, Breast Symptoms, and Systematic Therapy Side Effects). The remaining items assess sexual enjoyment and being upset by hair loss.…”

“…The remaining items assess sexual enjoyment and being upset by hair loss. The reliability and validity are adequate (Montazeri et al, 2000, Sprangers et al, 1996, Yun et al, 2004. In this study, only the scale Body Image was used.…”

Cancro do pulmão: Aspectos psicológicos e psiquiátricos

“…Características da doença, como o mau prognóstico, a culpabilidade do doente relativamente a comportamentos de risco ao longo da vida, nomeadamente tabagismo 6 , e o estigma decorrente da associação entre o consumo de tabaco e o cancro do pulmão 7 são apontados como factores responsáveis por esta maior prevalência. 13 . Num outro estudo, envolvendo doentes com cancro do pulmão inoperável, sintomas de depressão foram referidos por 33 % dos doentes antes do tratamento, e persistiram em mais de 50% deles, sendo que os doentes com carcinoma de pequenas células apresentavam uma prevalên-cia 3 vezes superior 8 ; não serão alheias a este facto as diferenças de opções terapêuticas e de prognóstico nestes doentes, comparativamente aos doentes com carcinoma de não pequenas células.…”