Depression, Personality and Life Stress Among Women with Breast Cancer in Eastern Croatian Region

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common among women and representsthe overall leading cancer in mortality rates. There is more than million newlydiagnosed breast cancer in the world every year. Incidence of breast cancer inCroatia is 100/100 000 or 2300 women per year. Every year, in Croatia, 900women die due to this carcinoma. Breast carcinoma is mostly found in women ages45-60. As the depression rates grow higher every year it isimportant to address the fact that among women with breast cancer the depressivesymptomes or depressive disorder is three times higher. These symptomes areoften correlated with stress (various life events), personality traits, sociodemographics and course of the primary disease (breast cancer). We have conducted a research among eighty (N=80)premenopausal women (40-60 years) withdiagnosed breast cancer shortly (3-7 days) after surgical treatment. Exclusion criteria was any kind of earliermental illness or psychiatric treatment/therapy . This research was conductedon Clinic for Surgery, Department of Thoracic surgery in the Clinical HospitalCentre Osijek (Croatia) and following questionnaires were applied: Hamiltondepression rating scale; Temperament and Character Inventory and Life Change Index Scale – The Stress Test. The obtained results were showed new perspective in dealingwith this disease, especially in this eastern Croatian region, and need forinterdisciplinary approach since significantly high ratio of women showeddepressive simptomes due to negative results correlated with stress and poorsocial/family support and also with specific personality features.