Prevalence and correlates of psychological distress among cancer patients in a tertiary care hospital in northern India

Abstract

Background: Patients diagnosed with cancer are usually exposed to high level of mental stress and hence invariably lend in psychological distress. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of psychological distress amongst cancer patients and determine its association with socio-demographic factors.Methods: This hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted at a cancer research institute of district Dehradun. Purposive sampling was used to select the hospital and recruiting patients. All eligible patients, giving written consent for the study were interviewed and distress related information was gathered using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The data were collected for two months and sample size of 208 was achieved. Data was entered in SPSS 22.0 and association of different variables with psychological distress was determined by chi-square test..Results: The mean age of the surveyed cancer patients was 51.05±15.68 years and the male female ratio was 1.7. Prevalence of psychological distress was found to be 38.5% and significantly more female patients than male patients (47.4% and 33.3% respectively) had distress. The association between psychological distress and increasing age, sex, literacy and employment status was found to be significant.Conclusions: Approximately 39% of cancer patients had psychological distress (anxiety/ depression/ both). The prevalence of psychological distress was found to be significantly higher in female patients, older age, patients with no formal education, unemployment and lower socio-economic status. Appropriate psychiatric interventions/ counselling following diagnosis and during therapy may be effective in reducing distress and improving quality of life in cancer patients.

Psychological distress and associated factors among cancer patients in public hospitals, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

“…This study explored the prevalence and factors associated with psychological distress among cancer patients in public hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and found that 64.5% of cancer patients had psychological distress. The current finding was higher than the studies conducted in South Korea (28.5%) [ 33 ], China (39.5%) [ 34 ], Taiwan (22.1%) [ 35 ], Southern India (38.5%) [ 36 ], and Australia (7.5%) [ 37 ], but it was lower than the studies conducted in Iran (67.7%) [ 38 ] and Germany (89.3%, 84.3%) [ 39 , 40 ]. This discrepancy might be due to differences in the scale used (other researchers used the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and in this study, the distress thermometer was used to measure psychological distress), the length of time that the study participants were enrolled, the cutoff point for the distress thermometer's visual analog score, and the presence of different associated factors that precipitate psychological distress.…”

Quality of life and factors affecting it in adult cancer patients undergoing cancer chemotherapy in a tertiary care hospital

“…A study by Mason et al (2019) showed that 39% of cancer patients had psychological distress, and prevalence was higher in female patients and old‐age patients. 24 Another study by Pruthi et al (2018) showed that emotional well‐being was affected negatively after chemotherapy in surgically resected gastric cancer patients. QoL is the least explored dimension in this part of the country which has a high disease burden.…”

“…Uttarakhand and its associated hilly areas have a varied diverse heterogeneous population. A study by Mason et al (2019) showed that 39% of cancer patients had psychological distress, and prevalence was higher in female patients and old‐age patients 24 . Another study by Pruthi et al (2018) showed that emotional well‐being was affected negatively after chemotherapy in surgically resected gastric cancer patients.…”

“I want to live, but …” the desire to live and its physical, psychological, spiritual, and social factors among advanced cancer patients: evidence from the APPROACH study in India

“…This is because there is a dearth of trained mental health professionals in India [ 43 ]. Additionally, both healthcare providers and patients are reluctant to openly talk about this issue [ 44 , 45 ]. One study shows that healthcare workers are often uncomfortable with managing patients’ extreme emotional reactions [ 46 ].…”