Depression, anxiety and quality of life in patients with melanoma

Abstract

Background / Aim. Recent investigations have established a significant correlation between melanoma and quality of life, as well as anxiety and depression in these patients. In prognosis of melanoma, the most important is the stage in which it is diagnosed. The objective of our study was to analyze the quality of life, anxiety and depression in patients with a diagnosis of melanoma at different stages of the disease. Methods. In our crosssectional study were included 40 consecutive patients with melanoma at diagnosis, which are diagnosed and treated at Department of Dermatology and Venerology Military Medical Academy during the period from October to November 2015. 20 respondents are in stage I and stage II (localized disease) and 20 respondents in stage IV (distant metastases). In our investigation we used EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ 30), Beck anxiety inventory (BAI) and Beck depression inventory (BDI). The statistical analysis included parametric and non-parametric descriptive statistics. Results. In stage I and II anxiety scores were higher in comparison to stage IV disease patients (37.5 vs 14.5, p<0.05), but depression was more pronounced (6 vs 2.5, p<0.05) in IV stage. There are statistically significant differences in all segments of quality of life between patients that are in I and II stage and patients in IV stage of the disease. The global quality of life was significantly worse for patients in the IV stage (33.5 vs 83), the symptomatology is more pronounced (78.5 vs 0) and the functioning was significantly worse (31 vs 85) in relation to patients at the I and II stages (p<0.01) for all segments of quality of life. Conclusion. Anxiety and quality of life decrease, while depression increases with the stage of melanoma. The need for adequate social and family support as well as psychological assistance in order to achieve better coping with illness is necessary in patients with melanoma. Further studies are needed for monitoring of anxiety, depression and quality of life from the moment of diagnosis of the disease over time, as well as the impact of new treatment modalities on these parameters. Key words: melanoma, depression, anxiety, quality of life, psychological instrument.Apstrakt Uvod / Cilj. Nedavna istaživanja su pokazala značajnu korelaciju između melanoma i kvaliteta života, kao i anksioznosti i depresije kod ovih pacijenata. U prognozi melanoma, najvažnija je faza u kojoj je dijagnostikovan. Cilj naše studije bila je analiza kvalitet života, anksioznosti i depresije kod pacijenata sa dijagnozom melanoma u različitim stadijumima bolesti. Metode. U našoj studiji preseka su bili uključeni pacijenati dijagnostikovani i lečeni u Klinici za kožne i polne bolesti Vojnomedicinske akademije tokom perioda od oktobra do decembra 2015. godine, ukupno 40 pacijenata sa dijagnozom melanoma. 20 ispitanika je bilo u I i II stadijumu (lokalizovane bolesti) i 20 ispitanika u IV fazi (udaljene metastaze). U našem istraživanju koristili smo upitnik za procenu kvalitet života obolelih od melanoma...