The Relation of Hopelessness/Helplessness versus Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in Healthy Individuals and in Patients with Benign Breast Disease and Breast Cancer: A Prospective Case-control Study in Finland

Background/Aim: The relation between hopeless ness/helplessness versus the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in healthy study subjects (HSS) and in patients with benign breast disease (BBD) and breast cancer (BC) has not been compared in a prospective study before. We, therefore, investigated hopelessness and helplessness versus the BDI in 115 patients. Patients and Methods: In the Kuopio Breast Cancer Study, 115 women with breast symptoms were evaluated for hopelessness and helplessness versus the BDI before any diagnostic procedures were carried out. Results: In the self-rating score (SRS), the hopelessness and the helplessness versus the BDI were highly significantly positively correlated in the HSS, BBD and BC groups. In the SRS, the weighted kappa values for hopelessness and helplessness versus the BDI in the HSS, BBD and BC groups were also statistically significant. There was also a significant positive correlation in the examiner-rating score (ERS) in the hopelessness versus the BDI in the BBD and BC groups and in the ERS in helplessness versus the BDI in the HSS and BBD groups. The unweighted kappa values in the ERS for hopelessness versus the BDI in the HSS and BBD groups were statistically highly significant and the unweighted kappa values in the ERS for helplessness versus the BDI in the BBD and BC groups were statistically significant. Conclusion: The results of this study support a powerful link between hopelessness and helplessness versus BDI in the self-rating and examiner-rating. This finding is of clinical importance since, in the breast cancer diagnostic unit, the patients with hopelessness/helplessness character istics and high BDI score might be associated with a difficulty and delay in reaching BC diagnosis.