Prevalence of depression among cancer patients in Jordan: a national survey

The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of depression among cancer patients in Jordan and to study the relation between several socio-demographic, disease- and treatment-related factors, and the occurrence of depression among those cancer patients. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted at a major university hospital in Jordan. Cancer patients were interviewed for socio-demographic information and medical records were checked for information about disease and treatment of patient. Patients' psychological status was assessed using The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The prevalence of depression in our sample was 51.9%. Significant correlation was detected between depression and appetite among cancer patients. Knowledge of having cancer and stage of the disease were also significantly associated with occurrence of depression. In an effort to reduce the occurrence of depression among cancer patients, special attention is needed for changes in the psychological status in patients with knowledge about their diagnosis and patients in advanced disease stage.