title: Depression and anxiety in cancer patients in a Tertiary General Hospital in Singapore.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Past research has indicated that distress, anxiety and depression may occur in cancer patients during the course of their illness and treatment.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to establish the prevalence of anxiety and depression in cancer patients in a Singapore hospital. It also describes the clinical characteristics of these patients, and examines if cancer patients with a psychiatric diagnosis differ from those without.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional anxiety and depression symptom data were collected using the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview generating DSM IV diagnoses from inpatients of an oncology ward in the tertiary hospital.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all, 315 patients were interviewed. Fifty three (16.8%) were diagnosed with major depression, while 30 (9.5%) were found to have generalized anxiety disorder, three to ten times higher than their corresponding prevalence rates in the general population. Patients with depression or anxiety tend to be unemployed, in stage 4 cancer, who can develop these symptoms at any time from the onset of cancer diagnosis, even when perceived social support is strong. Oncology patients with depression were more likely to be in terminal stages of cancer and to correctly identify themselves to have mental health issues, than those without (p<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The psychological impact of cancer is appreciable. The lack of identifiable risk factors makes the task of diagnosing psychiatric conditions in cancer patients an onerous one. The psychiatrist involved may want to look beyond socio-demographic variables and consider biological factors in cancer to better help detect psychiatric morbidity in this group of patients.
authors.affiliation: Singapore General Hospital, Outram Road, Singapore 169608, Singapore. Electronic address: tan.shian.ming@sgh.com.sg.
authors.forename: Shian Ming
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Singapore General Hospital, Outram Road, Singapore 169608, Singapore. Electronic address: kevin.beck@sgh.com.sg.
authors.forename: Kevin Roy
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.affiliation: Singapore General Hospital, Outram Road, Singapore 169608, Singapore. Electronic address: li.huihua@sgh.com.sg.
authors.forename: Huihua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Singapore General Hospital, Outram Road, Singapore 169608, Singapore. Electronic address: leslie.lim.e.c@sgh.com.sg.
authors.forename: Eng Choon Leslie
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Singapore General Hospital, Outram Road, Singapore 169608, Singapore. Electronic address: lalit.krishna@nccs.com.sg.
authors.forename: Lalit Kumar Radha
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Krishna
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012846:Singapore
keywords: Anxiety; Asia; Cancer; Depression