Social support and depression in patients with breast cancer during 1 year from diagnosis compared with the general population

Abstract

9612 Background: The objective of our study was to observe the change of social support and depression during 1 year from diagnosis in comparison with the general population and to identify whether the change of social support predicts the change of depression in patients with breast cancer. Methods: Social support, depression and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) were assessed at the time of diagnosis, and 1 month, 3 months, and 1 year after diagnosis in 399 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients using Medical Outcome Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS), Zung Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30. Results: Of 399 patients, 299 completed the baseline questionnaire (response rate, 74.9%) and 212 completed at 12 months after diagnosis (70.9%). Compared with the general population, social support at baseline in patients was similar and significantly lower at 12 months (p<0.01). On the other hand, compared with the general population, baseline depression in patients was significantly higher (p<0.001) and depression at 12 months was similar. Multivariate analysis showed that the change of social support between baseline and 12 months from diagnosis was negatively associated with change of depression. More social supports the patients had during the treatment period, better improved their depression was. The change of depression was negatively associated with changes of QoL functioning in all subscales in QLQ-C30. Conclusion: Although depression in patients with breast cancer improves at 1 year after diagnosis when acute treatment effects are declined, deficits in social support are predictors of depression during the treatment period. The results indicate that high level of depression may need interventions that target their needs related to social support. It may also improve breast cancer patient’s QoL functioning. We suggest that further study on the association between social support and depression is required. No significant financial relationships to disclose.