Predictors of depression and anxiety in a sample of Egyptian female breast cancer survivors

Abstract EN

Background: In Egypt, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women representing 18.9% of total cancer cases with an age-adjusted rate of 49.6 per100,000 population.

Research on cancer survival includes the physical consequences as well as psychosocial and economic challenges surrounding the diagnosis of cancer and its treatment.

Objectives: The current study assessed predictors of depression and anxiety in a sample of Egyptian women with breastcancer who attended an outpatient oncology clinic one or more years post-treatment.

Method: A case control study involved N=74 women (n=37 breast cancer survivors; n=37 matched controls) who were clinically interviewed in an oncology outpatient clinic at the Suez Canal University Hospital.

Depression and anxiety symptom levels were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating scale (HAM-A).

Results: Time since last treatment (one to five years) was associated with the greatest risk, categorized as being four times greater, for developing anxiety compared to those who had survived five or more years post-treatment.

None of the socio-demographic characteristics or time since last treatment could significantly predict depression in breast cancer survivors.

Conclusion: Further research on breast cancer survivors should include a larger sample size and wider variation in age and treatment modalities to enhance the generalizability of the results and better identification of the correlation between factors and mental disorders.