Prevalence and Associated Factors of Depression Symptoms in Women Newly Diagnosed with Breast Cancer in Kazakhstan

INTRODUCTION: Diagnosis of breast cancer is associated with the presence of psychological disorders including depression. There is a lack of study examining the prevalence of depression among newly diagnosed breast cancer patients in Kazakhstan.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the prevalence and associated sociodemographic and clinical factors of depression symptoms in women newly diagnosed with breast cancer.

METHODS: 162 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients at the oncology center in Almaty were recruited for this study. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire on sociodemographic and clinical information and the Beck Depression Inventory-II scale.

RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 54.41 years (SD=8.1). 95% of participants had unilateral breast cancer, and 79% of participants had stage I or stage II breast cancer. 73% of patients said that they do not have reliable social support. 46% of patients had symptoms of moderate depression, and 31% of patients had symptoms of severe depression. According to the multivariate analysis, factors associated with depression symptoms were: social status, household income level, reliability of social support, and stage of breast cancer.

CONCLUSION: The prevalence of depression symptoms is very high among newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. Unemployed or retired patients, with a lower household income, and no reliable social support diagnosed with an advanced stage of breast cancer are especially at high risk for developing depression.