Comparison of Depression Symptoms in Children and Adolescents with Cancer and Thalassemia Major Disorder

Document Type : Original article

Authors

1 Assistant professor of psychiatry of Psychiatry, Department of psychiatry, faculty of medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

2 Associate professor of psychiatry of Pediatrics, Department of psychiatry, faculty of medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

3 Department of pediatrics, faculty of medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

4 Medical student. Student research committee, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

5 Phd of Epidemiology. Department of epidemiology, faculty of medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Depression is one of the most prevalent mood disorders associated with loss of pleasure, lack of motivation, and sleep disorders. Chronic diseases, such as cancer and major thalassemia can increase the risk of depression with varying severity in children and adolescents. The present study aimed to compare depression symptoms in children and adolescents with chronic cancer and thalassemia major.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional and analytical study was performed on a number of 100 children and adolescents with cancer and 100 children and adolescents with thalassemia who were admitted to Shafa Hospital of Ahvaz, Iran. Data were collected using Maria Kovacs children's depression inventory (CDI) and demographic variables and analyzed in SPSS software (version 16) using the independent t-test.
Results: As evidenced by the obtained results, the mean score of depression in the cancer group was significantly higher, as compared to that in the thalassemia group (P=0.04). Moreover, the mean score of depression was significantly correlated with demographic variables, including age, length of disease, and educational performance in children and adolescents with cancer (P<0.05). Nonetheless, in patients with thalassemia, a significant relationship was only detected between depression score and gender (P<0.05).
Conclusion: The results of the current study demonstrated that children and adolescents with cancer obtained a higher rate of depression, compared to patients with thalassemia. Therefore, it is necessary to prioritize faster psychological therapeutic interventions in this group of children and adolescents.

Keywords

References

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Navid No
Volume 23, Issue 73
June 2020
Pages 57-65

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