Prevalence and Determinants of Anxiety Disorders among Females with Breast Cancer attending a Tertiary Care Hospital in Jammu

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in females worldwide. Anxiety disorders are widely affecting the patients of breast cancer and have a profound effect on the outcome of the disease.
Aims and Objectives: The current study aimed to estimate the prevalence of the anxiety disorders and to determine the association of various socio-demographic and clinical factors with anxiety disorders among females affected with breast cancer.
Methodology: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Jammu region of UT of J&K. All the females aged 18 years and above and diagnosed cases of breast cancer were eligible for the study. The information about sociodemographic characteristics was collected followed by application of Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I) to assess anxiety disorders. Data was presented in proportions and chi-square test was applied to find out the statistical significance of association.
Results: A total of 275 subjects were included in this study, majority (74.2%) of which were in 31-60 years age group. Among the anxiety disorders, prevalence of panic disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and combination of panic disorder and agoraphobia was reported to be 47.3%, 37.5%, and 22.9%, respectively. PTSD was significantly associated (p<0.05) with rural background while agoraphobia was significantly associated with age and type of family. Agoraphobia alone or in combination with panic disorder was significantly associated with treatment history (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The results of the current study have revealed that the prevalence of various anxiety disorders in cancer patients is a cause of concern, so the authors recommend that the services of psychiatrists and health counsellors may be provided to them during their treatment for better outcome.