Levels of Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Cancer During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Nilay Sengul1, Sahin Bedir1, Emir Celik1, Tevhide Betül Icli2, Yasin Kavla3, Senol Turan3, Nebi Serkan Demirci1, Fuat Hulusi Demirelli11Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul, Türkiye, 2Department of Internal Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul, Türkiye, 3Department of Psychiatry, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul, Türkiye
Objectives: COVID-19 is a new respiratory disease that is spreading widely throughout the World. We aimed to inves tigate the level of anxiety and depression during COVID-19 pandemic among patients with various types of cancer. Methods: A consecutive series of cancer patients who applied to the outpatient clinic were recruited. The semistruc tured sociodemographic and clinical data form, The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory(STAI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale(HADS), and Wong Baker Face Scale(WBFS) were completed by all participants. An abnormal score of STAI was considered when ?40.HADS scores below 7 are defined as “normal.” Results: 180 patients with cancer were analyzed. 62.8% of them were female. The most common cancers were breast cancer (31.1%). Patients’ mean HADS-A and HADS-D scores were 6.64±4.12 and 6.63±4.35. The HADS-A scores were sig nificantly higher in patients who receive active chemotherapy, afraid of to be infected with COVID-19 and afraid of their families to be infected with COVID-19 (p=.013, p<0.001, p=.011, respectively). The mean STAI-T score was 44.48±8.42 and STAI-S score was 41.29± 10.29. 72.2% patients showed a STAI-T score ?40, 55% patients showed a STAI-S score ?40. STAI-T and STAI-S scores were significantly higher in patients who are afraid of to be infected with COVID-19 than those who are not (p= .032, p=.004, respectively). Conclusion: This study provides evidence that cancer patients have a high prevalence of anxiety and depression levels during the COVID-19 pandemic.The pandemic may have a greater effect on patients who receive active chemotherapy and all patients had significant fear about themselves and their families to be infected with COVID-19. Keywords: Anxiety, Covid-19, cancer, depression
Cite This Article
Sengul N, Bedir S, Celik E, Icli T, Kavla Y, Turan S, Demirci N, Demirelli F. Levels of Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Cancer During the COVID-19 Pandemic. EJMI. 2024; 8(2): 98-105
Corresponding Author: Nilay Sengul