title: Measuring somatic symptoms with the CES-D to assess depression in cancer patients after treatment: comparison among patients with oral/oropharyngeal, gynecological, colorectal, and breast cancer.
abstract: There is a high prevalence of depression after cancer treatment. In the literature, several authors have raised questions about assessing somatic symptoms to explore depression after cancer treatment. These somatic sequelae are a consequence of cancer treatment and should cause higher depression rates in cancer patients. In this study, the Somatic domain on a depression questionnaire, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale (CES-D) was analyzed in different cancer patients after treatment, as compared with a control group. Data from 566 cancer patients (oral/oropharyngeal, gynecological, colorectal, and breast cancer) and 255 randomly chosen comparison patients were analyzed. The total score on the CES-D domain of Somatic Retarded Activity significantly differed between the cancer and comparison groups; but the cancer groups showed both less somatic morbidity (colorectal cancer) and more somatic morbidity (oral/oropharyngeal, breast) than the comparison group. In the analyses of the CES-D with and without the Somatic domain, the prevalence of depression symptoms with the Somatic domain is lower for the cancer groups. Authors conclude that cancer patients are not a homogenous group as regards somatic sequelae. Evidence for removing Somatic items from the CES-D for patients after cancer treatment was not confirmed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Pain Center, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9700 RB Groningen, the Netherlands. c.p.van.wilgen@anest.umcg.nl
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: van Wilgen
authors.forename: P U
authors.initials: PU
authors.lastname: Dijkstra
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Ranchor
authors.forename: J L N
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Roodenburg
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires