engleski

Correlates of depressive symptoms in breast cancer patients ; a cross-sectional study in Croatia

Depression is often under-detected in cancer patients, as well as particularly in breast cancer patients. Objective of our study was to check whether breast cancer symptoms are associated with depression. This cross sectional study was done from February to April 2015 at Department of Medical Oncology, University Hospital for Tumors, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center, Zagreb. Targeted population was the general population of patients diagnosed with breast cancer and treated in tertiary healthcare institution. We included the consecutive sample of all eligible patients hospitalized or examined in outpatients’clinic during the study period. Patients Health related quality of life (HRQoL) was measured by EORTC QLQ - C30 questionnaire, version 3.0. Our key outcome was the result of Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II). The analysis was performed by robust regression, using NCSS 10 Statistical Software (2015)(NCSS, LLC. Kaysville, Utah, USA). Total of 148 breast cancer patients were included. Median (interquartile range) age was 57 (48- 65) years. Patients were hospitalized in 30 (20.3%) and treated in outpatients clinic in 118 (79.7%) cases. The overall model was signifi cant (P<0.001) with coeffi cient of determination after robust weighting, R2=0.58. In other words, 58% of BDI-II variance was predicted by the included variables. After the adjustment for all other variables in multivariate robust regression analysis, significant positive association with depression was found in the cases of tumor stage, number of children, fatigue and appetite loss. Significant negative association was found in the cases of age and diarrhea. We can conclude that level of breast cancer patients depression is associated with fatique, appetite loss and diarrhea independently of different clinical, sociodemographic and vital factors.

breast cancer, symptoms, depression, quality of life

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