Introduction: To investigate the prevalence, and 12-month persistence and incidence of depression following surgery for breast cancer; to determine factors associated with this in an East Asian setting.
Methods: All cases at a given hospital following surgery for breast cancer were approached and participants were interviewed 2-5 days after surgery. Depression (major and minor depressive disorders) was diagnosed by DSM-IV using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview at baseline and 12 months after surgery. Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics investigated as covariates in logistic regression models.
Results: Of 335 breast cancer patients analysed at baseline, 80 (23.9%) had prevalent depression. Persistence in those with depression at baseline (60 analyzed) was 33.3%; incidence of depression in those without depression at baseline (202 analyzed) was 13.4%. In adjusted logistic regression analyses, past and family histories of depression were significantly associated with depression on baseline, and number of metastatic axillary lymph nodes was associated with persistence of depression at follow-up. No factors were associated with incident depression.
Discussion: Depression is common among Korean women with breast cancer, and predictive factors of depressions may differ according to the time after surgery.