유방암을 진단받은 시점에서 우울증상을 동반한 환자의 심리적 특성: 예비분석결과

• Published in: Journal of breast cancer pp. 83 - 88
• Main Authors: 김재호, 석정호, 전덕인, 홍현주, 홍나래, 김수진, 소유경, 김이수
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 한국유방암학회 01.06.2008
• Subjects: 일반외과학
• ISSN: 1738-6756; 2092-9900

Purpose: Patients with breast cancer may exhibit signs of psychological distress upon initial diagnosis of cancer. Previous studies have reported that depressive symptoms in the patients with breast cancer may have a harmful effect on their prognosis. Psychological characteristics of patients with depressive symptoms were investigated, comparing them to those of patients without depressive symptoms. Methods: Thirty-eight patients initially diagnosed with breast cancer were recruited from the Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital. The psychological symptoms of the patients were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Self-Awareness Scale. Their mental coping was assessed using the Korean Mental Adjustment to Cancer scale (KMAC) and their health-related quality of life was assessed with the Short Form 36-item Health Survey (SF-36). The cut-off points of BDI and MADRS of the depressed subgroup were 13 and 10, respectively. Psychological characteristics of depressed patients were compared with non-depressed patients. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 13.0 packages. Results: Sociocultural variables, including age, education year and cancer stage, were not different between the two patient groups. The depressed group showed significantly higher state-anxiety and lower trait-anxiety and positive self-awareness scores compared to the non-depressed group. In the SF-36 Health Survey, the depressed group showed a significantly lower mental health component score of fighting-spirit factor, in addition to a higher score of anxious-preoccupation factor in the K-MAC compared to those of the non-depressed group. Conclusion: When patients were diagnosed with breast cancer, depressed patients may suffer from a poorer quality of mental health and more psychological suffering. This suffering can lead to maladaptive compliance in following treatment. Therefore, depressive symptoms need to be investigated and managed at the initial step of breast cancer. KCI Citation Count: 3