“A STUDY TO EVALUATE THE PREVALANCE OF DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY AND ITS IMPACT ON QUALITY OF LIFE IN CERVICAL CANCER PATIENTS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL”

Background

AND

Aim

Among women worldwide, cervical cancer is the 4th most common cancer to be diagnosed and it ranks as the 4th most common cause of cancer related mortality. India accounts for 25% of the world’s mortality rate as well. Patients with co morbid depression or anxiety experience more severe symptoms, take longer to recover, use more health care resources and have poorer prognosis and quality of life than those with single disorder. Therefore, evaluation of cancer patients should also include personal & family history of mental illness or suicide, current mental & physical status, side effects of treatment and disease, other stressors in the patient’s life and necessary support available to patient. Hence the aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of depression and anxiety in cervical cancer patients and study its association with quality of life.

Methods

This cross-sectional observational study was conducted at R. L. Jalappa Hospital. All in-patients diagnosed with cervical cancer with age of 30 to 80 were included excluding the patients who were terminally ill or having neurological deficits or associated with previous psychiatry disorders. Informed consent was taken, demographic and clinical data was collected as per the proforma and relevant scales that are HAM-A, HDRS and EORTC QLQ-C30 were applied after obtaining informed consent for same.