The Prevalence of Depression among Patients with the Top Ten Most Common Cancers in South Korea

Abstract

ObjectiveAmong the various psychiatric disorders, depression is a common comorbid condition in cancer patients. Due to the distinct and diverse nature of cancer, the prevalence of depression may be assumed to be affected by differences in primary cancer sites. In this study, we explored the prevalence rates of depression among the ten most prevalent cancers in South Korea using a national patient sample.MethodsThis was a 1-year cross-sectional study using a national patient sample provided by the South Korean National Health Insurance in 2011. We selected all patients who had received ICD-10 codes of the 10 most prevalent cancers and major depressive disorder. Afterwards, the cancer and depression groups were merged and analyzed.ResultsThe MDD prevalence rate was highest in lung cancer (11.0%), followed by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (9.2%), prostate (9.1%), bladder (8.8%), breast (7.8%), cervix (7.8%), colorectal (7.7%), stomach (6.9%), liver (6.5%), and thyroid cancer (5.6%). Within all cancer groups, patients with a MDD diagnosis were significantly older (p<0.05) than non-MDD patients. Colorectal, stomach, and thyroid cancer displayed a higher female proportion in the MDD group than the non-MDD group. In the subgroup analysis, the prevalence rate differed by age and sex.ConclusionThe prevalence of depression varied according to cancer types. Patients with lung cancer were the most prone to experience depression. Because clinical and psychological factors may influence MDD prevalence, these factors will need to be studied more closely in the future.

Psychologic Distress Is Associated with Cancer-Specific Mortality among Patients with Cervical Cancer

“…To our knowledge, no other study has reported the combined prevalence of clinically diagnosed stress-related disorders among patients with cervical cancer. A previous study from South Korea used administrative databases to ascertain the diagnosis of depression among patients with cervical cancer and reported a prevalence of 7.9% (44). The slightly lower prevalence of depression in this study (4.9%) is likely because only clinical diagnoses made by specialists or during in-patient care were included in our study.…”

Time to Take Sleeping Pills and Subjective Satisfaction among Cancer Patients

“…Depression can also affect fatigue symptoms; 25 in fact, 5.6% to 24.0% of cancer patients suffer from depression. [26][27][28] Therefore, the concept of primary insomnia may not be fit for cancer patients, and depressive symptoms should be considered as a common comorbidity of insomnia. In this study, 63 (65.6%) patients were diagnosed as having insomnia, and 21 (21.9%) patients had major depressive disorder.…”

Antidepressant Prescription and Risk of Lung Cancer: A Nationwide Case-Control Study

“…Besides, depressive disorder is significantly more prevalent in the lung cancer group than in the control group in our study. In a cross-sectional study using a national patient sample provided by the South Korean NHI, they found patients with lung cancer were the most prone to experience depression among the 10 most prev-alent cancers in South Korea [46]. Higher levels of psychological distress, health-related stigma, and poorer quality of life were reported in lung cancer patients than in other types of cancers [47,48].…”