Screening for depression, sleep-related disturbances, and anxiety in patients with adenocarcinoma of the pancreas: a preliminary study.
OBJECTIVE
Screening for depression, sleep-related disturbances, and anxiety in patients with diagnosed adenocarcinoma of the pancreas.


METHODS
Patients were evaluated at initial consultation and subsequent visits at the multidisciplinary pancreatic cancer clinic at our University Cancer Center. Cross-sectional and longitudinal psychosocial distress was assessed utilizing Personal Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ9) to screen for depression and monitor symptoms, the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) for generalized anxiety, and the University of Michigan Sleep Questionnaire to monitor sleep symptoms.


RESULTS
Twenty-two patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer participated during the 6-month pilot study with longitudinal followup for thirteen patients. In this study, mild-to-moderate depressive symptoms, anxiety, and potential sleep problems were common. The main finding of the study was 23% of the patients who were part of this pilot project screened positive for moderately severe major depressive symptoms, likely anxiety disorder or a potential sleep disorder during the study. One patient screened positive for moderately severe depressive symptoms in longitudinal followup.


CONCLUSIONS
Depression, anxiety, and sleep problems are evident in patients with pancreatic cancer. Prospective, longitudinal studies, with larger groups of patients, are needed to determine if these comorbid symptoms impact outcome and clinical course.
Department of Biomedical and Health Information Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1919 W Taylor Street MC 530, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. boyda@uic.edu
Andrew D
AD
Boyd
Doris
D
Brown
Chris
C
Henrickson
Janet
J
Hampton
Bin
B
Zhu
Farideh
F
Almani
Edgar
E
Ben-Josef
Mark
M
Zalupski
Diane M
DM
Simeone
Jeremy M G
JM
Taylor
Roseanne
R
Armitage
Michelle
M
Riba
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires