PLoS ONE (Jan 2021)

The prevalence of depressive disorder and its association in Thai cervical cancer patients.

  • Nuntaporn Karawekpanyawong,
  • Kewalee Kaewkitikul,
  • Benchalak Maneeton,
  • Narong Maneeton,
  • Sitthicha Siriaree

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252779
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 6
p. e0252779

Abstract

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PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the prevalence, associated factors and quality of life associated with depressive disorder in cervical cancer patients.Patients and methodsThis cross-sectional study was carried out in a gynecologic oncology clinic of a university hospital in Northern Thailand from October 2018 to August 2019. Two-hundred cervical cancer patients were screened for depressive disorder using the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and psychiatrists interviewed eligible patients to confirm diagnoses. We measured the quality of life using questionnaires from the European Organisation for the Research and Treatment of Cancer: Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) and Cervical Cancer Module 24 (EORTC QLQ-Cx24). Associated factors, including comorbidity, fatigue, and pain, were collected using the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), the eleven-item Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFQ 11), and the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, respectively.ResultsTwenty-seven (13.5%) cervical cancer patients were diagnosed with depressive disorder by psychiatrists according to the DSM-5. Depressive disorder was related to a worse quality of life in these patients. A binary logistic regression analysis revealed that depressive disorder among these patients was linked with these factors: high fatigue score (aOR: 1.35; CI: 1.18-1.53), high pain score (aOR: 1.25; CI: 1.02-1.54), no perception of social support, (aOR: 3.12; CI: 1.11-8.81), and no previous surgical treatment for cervical cancer (aOR: 2.99; CI: 1.08-8.29).ConclusionThe depressive disorder prevalence was 13.5% in Northern Thai cervical cancer patients. In this demographic, cervical cancer patients-who reported high fatigue or pain scores, did not perceive social support, or had no previous cervical cancer surgery- were more likely to have depressive disorder.