Psychiatric disorders in patients who lost family members to cancer and asked for medical help: descriptive analysis of outpatient services for bereaved families at Japanese cancer center hospital.
OBJECTIVE
There have been no previous studies about consultation of the bereaved who have lost a loved one to cancer and ask for medical help. The aim of this study was to investigate their basic characteristics and their psychiatric disorders.


METHODS
A retrospective study using clinical and background data obtained over 30 months (from April 2007 to September 2009) was conducted at outpatient services for bereaved families at the Department of Psycho-Oncology at Saitama Medical University International Medical Center, Japan.


RESULTS
During the period of investigation, 51 patients underwent consultation. The patients were frequently female (P < 0.0001) and the spouse of the deceased. Regarding the psychiatric diagnoses, major depression was the most common (39%), followed by adjustment disorders (28%).


CONCLUSIONS
This study revealed basic characteristics and psychiatric disorders of the bereaved who asked for medical help. Most of the patients were women (86.3%) and 86.3% of them received a psychiatric diagnosis. This information is important for both physicians and psychologists since the bereaved who have lost a loved one to cancer often ask for medical help in clinical settings.
Waseda University, Tokorozawa City, Saitama 359-1192, Japan. mayumi@fuji.waseda.jp
Mayumi
M
Ishida
Hideki
H
Onishi
Mei
M
Wada
Yukio
Y
Tada
Hiroshi
H
Ito
Masaru
M
Narabayashi
Yasutsuna
Y
Sasaki
Shinobu
S
Nomura
Yosuke
Y
Uchitomi
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D002173:Cancer Care Facilities; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000523:psychology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult