Prevalence and Associated Factors of Depression Symptoms in Women Newly Diagnosed with Breast Cancer in Kazakhstan

Abstract

Introduction:Diagnosis of breast cancer is associated with the presence of psychological disorders including depression. There is a lack of study examining the prevalence of depression among newly diagnosed breast cancer patients in Kazakhstan. Objective: This study aims to assess the prevalence and associated sociodemographic and clinical factors of depression symptoms in women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Methods: 162 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients at the oncology center in Almaty were recruited for this study. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire on sociodemographic and clinical information and the Beck Depression Inventory-II scale. Results:The mean age of the patients was 54.41 years (SD=8.1). 95% of participants had unilateral breast cancer, and 79% of participants had stage I or stage II breast cancer. 73% of patients said that they do not have reliable social support. 46% of patients had symptoms of moderate depression, and 31% of patients had symptoms of severe depression. According to the multivariate analysis, factors associated with depression symptoms were: social status, household income level, reliability of social support, and stage of breast cancer. Conclusion: The prevalence of depression symptoms is very high among newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. Unemployed or retired patients, with a lower household income, and no reliable social support diagnosed with an advanced stage of breast cancer are especially at high risk for developing depression.

Kazakh version of the beck depression inventory: Validation study in female cancer patients

“…Kazakhstan has a limited amount of research on depression among cancer patients, which may hinder the development of evidence-based interventions. In our previous study on depression symptom prevalence among newly diagnosed breast cancer patients, we found alarmingly high rates of depression [ 45 ]. Present study findings contribute to the diagnosis and screening of depression in female cancer patients.…”