04 / THE PREDICTORS OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION IN HEAD AND NECK CANCER PATIENTS

Individuals often encounter psychological distress after a diagnosis of cancer, especially head and neck cancer (HNC). Worries regarding restricted functions, facial disfigurement, waiting time for investigation and duration of hospital stay for treatment make them feel awful. Often this feeling goes unnoticed and is underestimated. We aimed to assess the prevalence of the dreadful feeling in terms of anxiety and depression in newly diagnosed head and neck cancer patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted in two cancer-treating institutions in South India. About 357 freshly diagnosed HNC patients participated in the study. Pre-validated Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to assess the anxiety and depression levels. Descriptive statistics was done to report socio-demographic, clinical variables and mean scores. Independent t-test and correlation test were done for comparison and association, respectively. Mean depression score for males and females was 11.481, 11.865, respectively. Mean anxiety score for males was 11.708 and 11.792 for females. There was a strong positive correlation between depression and anxiety score (0.864) among patients. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean anxiety and depression scores among gender, socioeconomic status, marital status and cancer stages (p>0.05). Newly diagnosed HNC patients had an abnormal level of anxiety and depression, which needs special attention and care during treatment for a better outcome.

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Value of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale in the follow up of head and neck cancer patients

The Journal of Laryngology & Otology ◽

10.1017/s0022215113000078 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 127 (3) ◽

pp. 285-294 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

L A Joseph ◽

J A Routledge ◽

M P Burns ◽

R Swindell ◽

A J Sykes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Head And Neck Cancer ◽

Head And Neck ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Neck Cancer ◽

Late Effects ◽

Normal Tissue ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Hospital Anxiety ◽

Scale Scores

AbstractBackground:Few studies have prospectively investigated psychological morbidity in UK head and neck cancer patients. This study aimed to explore changes in psychological symptoms over time, and associations with patients' tumour and treatment characteristics, including toxicity.Methods:Two hundred and twenty patients were recruited to complete the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Late Effects on Normal Tissue (Subjective, Objective, Management and Analytic) (‘LENT-SOMA’) questionnaires, both pre- and post-treatment.Results:Anxiety was highest pre-treatment (38 per cent) and depressive symptoms peaked at the end of treatment (44 per cent). Anxiety significantly decreased and depression significantly increased, comparing pre- versus post-treatment responses (p < 0.001). Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale scores were significantly correlated with toxicity, age and chemotherapy (p < 0.01 for all).Conclusion:This is the first study to analyse the relationship between Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale scores and toxicity scores in head and neck cancer patients. It lends support for the use of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Late Effects on Normal Tissue (Subjective, Objective, Management and Analytic) questionnaire in routine clinical practice; furthermore, continued surveillance is required at multiple measurement points.

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