Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among Breast Cancer Patients at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Faisalabad, Pakistan

Abstract

The prevalence of depression in the patients of breast cancer is very common. The diagnosis of cancer produces stress, anxiety, and fear of pain and death in patients, all of which affect their physical and emotional wellbeing. These factors hinder the treatment of cancer because patients lose their will to live a happy and healthy life. The quality of life of people with psychiatric symptoms remains poor. Furthermore, there is a considerable risk that depressive symptoms in patients with breast cancer can lead to physical impairment and prolong mortality. The current descriptive and cross-sectional study was designed to determine depression, anxiety, and stress (DAS) levels in breast cancer patients at a tertiary care hospital in Faisalabad, Pakistan. The questionnaire included the socio-demographic, disease, and DAS related questions. A total of 138 women with breast cancer were included. The data was analyzed using SPSS software. The results showed that 38% of women had extremely severe depression, 68% were suffering from extremely severe anxiety, and 34% were facing extremely severe stress. The study showed that different factors were affecting the DAS scale, such as illiteracy (46.40%), occupation (labour 60.90%) and low income (76.80%) of husbands, sad reaction of families (60.10%), and the fear of chemotherapy (44.20%). Cancer patients need special attention and treatments to avoid emotional distress during their disease journey. This currebt study helps the healthcare professionals to provide psychological treatment to these patients.