Ocean Journal of Psychiatry and Mental Health Research | Volume 2, Issue 1 | Research Article | Open Access
Simranjit Parmar*
Richmond University Medical Center, Staten Island, New York, USA
*Correspondence to: Simranjit Parmar
Fulltext PDFBackground: Cancer patients often suffer from psychiatric disorders as a result of their illness and its treatment. Past research suggests that major depression and anxiety in these patients is underdiagnosed and most often inadequately treated. There is a strong need to investigate if depression and anxiety are influenced by the treatment phase in order for identified patients to benefit from early recognition and intervention. Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine the existence and severity of depression and anxiety in patients undergoing chemotherapy at the Richmond University Medical Center (RUMC). Patients currently undergoing an initial chemotherapy cycle will be compared to patients undergoing a subsequent chemotherapy cycle along with analysis based on age and gender. Data will then be collected using standardized depression and anxiety scales to assess if these conditions exist and if so, to which degree of severity. Methods: This descriptive retrospective study was performed by reviewing medical records of 79 eligible patients who were receiving chemotherapy at RUMC between 2017 and 2019. The study forms included a brief survey consisting of the participants' sociodemographic characteristics, receiving chemotherapy for the first time, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7). Participants completed the forms before starting the chemotherapy cycle for which they were present. Statistical analysis was carried out using a two-tailed t-test to evaluate the p-values and a value of <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Forty-three (54.4%) participants were females and thirty-six (45.6%) were males. Thirty-four (43.0%) participants were under the age of 65, and forty-five (57.0%) participants were at the age of 65 or above. Forty-two (53.2%) participants were undergoing their first cycle of chemotherapy, out of which 39 (92.9%) patients had some form of depression and 33 (78.6%) patients had some form of anxiety. Thirty-seven (46.8%) patients were undergoing a subsequent cycle of chemotherapy, out of which 27 (72.9%) patients had some form of depression and 19 (51.4%) patients had some form of anxiety. There were significant relationships between anxiety, depression, and the age group of the patients with higher frequency in younger ages. Conclusion: The results of this study show that patients receiving their first cycle of chemotherapy have significantly higher levels of depression and anxiety as compared to patients receiving subsequent cycles of chemotherapy (p-value 0.0136). Higher frequency of anxiety and depression were noted in females and patients <65 years of age.
Simranjit Parmar, Maryam Rani, Khushbu Shah, Zeinab Kaleemullah, Asad Shaikh, Dennis Bloomfield and Joel Idowu. Evaluation of Depression and Anxiety in Chemotherapy Patients. Oce J of Psy & Men Heal. 2022:2(1):1-8.