Changes in Depression and Sleep Quality and Associated Factors in Women Receiving Chemotherapy for Ovarian Cancer

Abstract

Background: Although women with ovarian cancer experience depression and poor sleep quality, little is known about how various factors, particularly self-efficacy, might be associated with these conditions. Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of and changes in depression and sleep quality and the factors associated with these conditions in a cohort of women with ovarian cancer before, during, and after chemotherapy. Methods: A prospective repeated-measures design was adopted in this study. Participants were women with ovarian cancer who were expected to receive 4 to 6 cycles of chemotherapy and were recruited at a medical center in Taiwan. The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire that included the Symptom Distress Scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, General Self-efficacy Scale, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The data were collected before, during, and after the course of chemotherapy. Results: Overall, 24.6% to 36.9% of women were at risk for depression; 75.4% to 80.0% of women had poor sleep quality. There were no significant changes in depressive symptoms and sleep quality throughout the course of chemotherapy. More severe depressive symptoms were associated with higher levels of symptom distress and lower self-efficacy. Poorer sleep quality was associated with higher levels of symptom distress. Conclusions: Among participants, more depressive symptoms and poorer sleep quality were associated with higher levels of symptom distress or lower self-efficacy. Implications for Practice: Healthcare providers should continuously assess depression and sleep quality in women with ovarian cancer. These symptoms may be improved by strengthening self-efficacy and relieving symptom distress.

Study on the Profiles of Sleep Disorders, Associated Factors, and Pathways Among Gynecological Cancer Patients – A Latent Profile Analysis

“…Previous studies have estimated 24.3% to 80.0% of women with gynecological cancer had poor sleep quality. 10,41 Our study shows that 47.5% report that the subjective sleep quality is poor/very bad, which is at a moderate level. 17.9% of patients in our study report using prescription or over-The-counter sleeping medication at least once in the past month, lower than estimated in other studies of gynecologic cancer patients (36.7%).…”

“… 9 And 75.4% to 80.0% of women had poor sleep quality. 10 Insomnia, sleep interruption and drowsiness were the features of sleep disorders, that was, sleep could not meet the needs of the body, causing adverse effects to health outcome. 11 The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommended that cancer survivors regularly screen for sleep disorders, and advocated behavior therapy instead of drug therapy as the first-line treatment of sleep disorders.…”

Symptom distress and suicidal ideation among Chinese ovarian cancer patients: A moderated mediation model of depression and suicide resilience

“…There is a strong relationship between depression and symptom distress. A study based on a Chinese ovarian cancer population revealed that more severe of symptom distress predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms ( Wu et al, 2022 ). Similarly, a sample from Korea revealed that ovarian cancer patients experienced more depressive symptoms if they were troubled with more physical symptoms ( Hwang et al, 2016 ).…”

The Role of Nursing Care in the Management of Patients with Traumatic Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

“…The occultness of early symptoms, the poor prognosis of the disease in advanced stages, and the fact that about 70% of ovarian cancer diagnoses are made in advanced stages [15] ultimately lead to non-responsiveness to therapeutic strategies and reduced rates of survival to the point where 63% of cases ends in death [15]. In addition to all this, the adverse effects of common treatment methods, such as the invasiveness of surgery and the toxicity of chemotherapy on non-target tissues, which cause infertility [16,17], anemia [18,19], infection [20,21], bleeding [22], insomnia and depression [23][24][25], diarrhea, and constipation [26,27] have led researchers to desire to find an alternative to the standard treatments strongly. The design and development of novel pharmaceuticals with fewer adverse effects and improved antitumoral activity are considered one of the main strategies to confront the previous insufficiencies of ovarian cancer therapeutic approaches [28,29].…”