Depression, anxiety and psychological stress among cancer patients on treatment in nepal

Author: 
Samita Maharjan., Jagannath P., Sudeep Kumar., Sanal T.S and Devendra Raj Singh

Background: Cancer is a stressful life event when a person is diagnosed with it. Depression and anxiety are the most common manifestations of cancer patients. It has been estimated that for every 10 cancer patients 2 are depressed. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to assess the level of depression, anxiety and psychological stress among cancer patients undergoing treatment and find their determinants.
Materials and methods: It was conducted at Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital, Nepal.Respondents were interviewed using structured questionnaires to collect information on depression, anxiety, perceived stress and social support. Descriptive statistics, Chi Square or Likelihood Ratio test were used to find the determinants. Statistical analysis was done by using SPSS version 16.
Results: For this study, 309 cancer respondents were identified. Of these, 49.2% reported moderate to severe depression, 26.5% with moderate anxiety to potential cause of concern and 75.7% had moderate to high perceived stress. The key determinants identified were age, gender, marital status, education, stages of cancer and system of cancer.
Conclusion: The study showed that depression and perceived stress were common among cancer cases than anxiety.

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DOI: 
http://dx.doi.org/10.24327/ijcar.2018.12823.2268
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