Anxiety and depression in patients with lung cancer under chemotherapy. Assessment with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale

Cancer and particularly lung cancer, which is the most prevalent form of cancer worldwide, constitute a major health problem in developed countries. Beyond physical problems, the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity is also high. Aim: Τo investigate the prevalence of two major psychological disorders, anxiety and depression in patients with lung cancer. Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty eight (128) patients of a provincial general hospital filled in the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Descriptive and analytic statistics was performed. SPSS 17.0 was used for analysis. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: Males were 55.5 % of the sample. Less than 10 % had severe complications. The estimation of depression in the sample was 18%, while anxiety was estimated at 10% of the sample. Statistically significant differences were observed between depression and gender (p=0.035) and anxiety and alimentary system complications (p=0.002). Conclusion: Patients suffering from lung cancer exhibit high levels of anxiety and depression. Gender and alimentary tract complications seem to associate with psychological disorders.

Keywords: Lung cancer, depression, anxiety, complications