Determinant factors of Death Depression in Iranian patients with cancer

Abstract

Introduction: Living with a serious stressor such as cancer is known to activate cognitive patterns relative to personal death and dying. This study was conducted to determine of death depression and its related factors in Iranian patients with cancer. Method: In this cross-sectional study that was conducted in 2015 (June-November); 500 cancer patients with random sampling method were included to study. Data were gathered with demographic and Death Depression Scale (DDS). Univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses with using SPSS 22.0 were used to explore the potential factors influencing death depression of cancer patients. Results: Based on results, males age (48.59±16.15; 95CI: 46.62-50.57) were more than females (46.38±14.24; 95 CI: 68.42-71.66). The average of death depression score among patient with cancer was higher than the third quartile. A multivariate linear regression analysis showed that scores of incoming status (β coefficient = 0.24, p<0.001), no history of drug use (β coefficient = 0.13, p=0.002), and stage of cancer (β coefficient = 0.12, p=0.005) were independent predictors of death depression in cancer patients. Conclusion: Regards to high prevalence of depression in selected patients, importance of concentration on psychology interventions, especially in acute phase of disease and chemotherapy periods were highlighted.