112P Impact of surgery on psychological distress in women with breast cancer

Abstract

Background The various surgical procedures for early-stage breast cancer are equivalentintermsofsurvival.Inthiscontextotherfactors,suchastheeffectof intervention on psychological health, psychosocial adjustment and quality oflife assumegreatimportance.Theobjectiveofthisstudywastoestimatetheprevalenceof psychological distress in breast cancer patients who had undergone surgery and compare them with those who had not received surgical intervention. Methods The study was carried out in outpatient department of Multan Institute of Medicine and Radiotherapy, Multan. The studygroup comprised of90 breastcancer patients who were divided into 2 groups on basis surgery for breast cancer. Aga Khan University Anxiety & Depression Scale (AKUADS) was used to assess the prevalence of psychological distress. Results:Outof90patientswhowereinterviewed,55werefoundtohaveclinically significantlevelsofanxietyanddepressionsymptomsasmeasuredbyAKUADS. Women who had undergone surgery were found to be significantly less depressed than thosewhohadnotreceivedsuchintervention(51.11%vs.71.11%OR=2.35,95% CI=1.31-4.22,p<0.05).Althoughmastectomypatientsweremoredepressedthan those who had breast conserving surgery but the difference did not reach significant proportions(OR=1.33,95%CI=0.76-2.32,p>0.05). Similarlytherewasno difference between patients who were recently treated and those who received treatment longagointermsofpsychologicaldistress(OR=1.23,95%CI=0.70-2.15,p>0.05). An intriguing finding was lesser prevalence ofdepression in women whose surgeons allowedthemchosethetypeofsurgery(OR=0.39,95%CI=0.22-0.69,p<0.05).The factors found to be affecting psychological distress in surgery patients group were living inruralarea(OR=1.99,95%CI=0.96-3.06),havinglowincome(OR=2.66,95% CI=1.50-4.70),andbeingphysicallyinactive(OR=2.47,95%CI=1.39-4.38). Conclusions Findingsfromthisstudyshowthatbreastcancerpatientshaveless psychological distress following surgery. The results show the need ofpsychosocial interventions and patient centered solution for evidence based selection ofoptimal treatment. Legal entity responsible for the study Nishtar Medical College Hospital Multan Funding Nishtar Medical College Hospital Multan Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts ofinterest.