The prevalence of depression symptoms among advanced breast cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

• Main Authors: Indira KARIBAYEVA, Botagoz TURDALIYEVA, Nor Zuraida ZAINAL, Fatima BAIYAROVA
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Balkan Medical Union 2020-12-01
• Series: Archives of the Balkan Medical Union
• Subjects: breast cancer; depression; metastatic; meta-analysis; recurrent; systematic review
• Online Access: https://umbalk.org/the-prevalence-of-depression-symptoms-among-advanced-breast-cancer-patients-a-systematic-review-and-meta-analysis/

Introduction. Depression in patients with advanced breast cancer is a serious comorbidity that affects the quality of life of these patients, and their survival rates. Objective. This study aims at systematically reviewing the current literature with data on the prevalence of depression symptoms in metastatic and recurrent breast cancer patients, examining the pooled mean prevalence of depression symptoms and potential sources of heterogeneity. Methods. An extensive systematic review of PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, American Doctoral Dissertations and Open Grey databases, and the following reference list hand-search was performed to retrieve studies from January 2005. Results. We identified 11 eligible studies that assessed 1223 patients on the presence of depression symptoms, and 465 patients met the criteria. According to the random-effects model, the pooled mean prevalence of depression was 38.23% (95% CI [30.92; 45.83]; I2= 87%; Q (df =10)=77.89, p-value < 0.01). Patients with metastatic stage had a slightly higher prevalence of depression symptoms compared to recurrent breast cancer patients. Conclusion. Prevalence of depression symptoms among advanced breast cancer patients is high. It is important to improve psychological prevention methods to decrease the occurrence of depression, as breast cancer patients start receiving care from primary diagnosis and offer continuous support and treatment to meet their psychological needs.