ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Patients with oncological diseases often have mental disorders in the form of comorbidity. The aim of this study was to research the association of cancer with the presence of symptoms of depression and anxiety in primary health care patients. METHODS: This prospective observational study done in 2020 included adult users of health care at the Health Center Trstenik, Central Serbia, aged 19 and over, both sexes, with a diagnosis of oncological disease. A research instrument to assess depressive symptoms is used PHQ-9 (The Patient Health Questionnaire) questionnaire, derived from PRIME MD- and (The Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders), and the Beck Anxiety Scale (BAI) to register the presence of certain anxiety symptoms. RESULTS: The largest percentage of patients had symptoms of mild (27.2%) or moderate depression (22%), while 18% reported symptoms of major depression. The level of depression was higher in older subjects, in the presence of chronic diseases with greater limitations of activity and the presence of difficulties in performing daily activities, with a more pronounced effect of pain on activity, the presence of stress. All subjects were characterized as persons with severe anxiety (score 26-63). The level of anxiety was higher in older respondents, in the presence of long-term illness, with greater limitations of activities and difficulties in performing daily activities, with a more pronounced influence of pain on performing activities and the influence of the media. CONCLUSION: Caring for the mental health of cancer patients must occupy a significant part of each country's national health policy.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) and metabolic syndrome were separately associated with cognitive impairment and depression. However, whether metabolic syndrome adds to cognitive impairment and depression in patients who already have CSVD remained unanswered. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to investigate the association of metabolic syndrome with cognitive impairment and depression in patients with CSVD who have lacunar lesions or white matter hyperintensities. METHODS: This prospective cohort study was conducted at Neurology Clinic, Clinical Center, Kragujevac, Serbia. Main outcomes of the study were cognitive assessment, and assessment of depression among hospitalized patients with or without CSVD. RESULTS: The study included 74 inpatients, 25 of them having lacunary infarctions, 24 with the white matter hyperintensities, and 25 control patients without CSVD. The CSVD was accompanied by impairment of cognition and depression, the patients with lacunary lesions being more cognitively impaired and more depressive than the patients with the white matter hyperintensities. The patients with CSVD who also had metabolic syndrome were more cognitively impaired and depressed than the patients with CSVD alone. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, our study showed that metabolic syndrome is associated with further worsening of already impaired cognition and existing depression in patients with CSVD.
