2Department of Psychiatry, Gaziantep University Faculty of Medicine, Gaziantep-Turkey DOI : 10.5505/tjo.2019.2024 OBJECTIVE
Long treatment periods, repeated hospitalizations and side effects of chemotherapy besides the knowledge of having cancer may all affect the psyche of these patients. In this study, we investigated the effects of illness perception on anxiety and depression in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy treatment.
METHODS
A total of 182 patients were recruited in this cross-sectional study. Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale,
Visual Analoge Scale and Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire were used to assess the anxiety and
depression, pain and illness perception, respectively.
RESULTS
There were 103 (56.59%) female and 79 (43.41%) male patients in this study. The present sample had
possible clinical levels of anxiety and depression of 25.3% and 26.4%, respectively, and probable clinical
levels of anxiety and depression of 25.8% for both. Positive illness perception parameters, such as
personal control and treatment control, were both not correlated with anxiety scores (p=0.120, p=0.070,
respectively). According to the evaluation of depression scores, personel control was negatively correlated
(p<0.005) and no relation was found to treatment control (p=0.062). VAS was positively correlated
with negative illness perception (p<0.005).
CONCLUSION
Anxiety and depression were strongly associated with illness perception and pain in cancerpatients during
chemotherapy treatment. Oncologists and chemotherapy nurses should pay more attentive to the
signs and symptoms of anxiety and depression, and offer specific supportive therapy to each patient.