The association between depression and stigma in lung cancer patients

Abstract

SUMMARY Introduction Lung cancer is often associated with high prevalence of depression and stigma of self-inflicted disease. Both depression and stigma are associated with poor outcomes in diagnostics and treatment and should be detected and managed. Aim The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of depression and stigma in the sample of lung cancer patients and the associations between depression and stigma. Methods Seventy-six patients from two university clinics with diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer were consecutively included in the study. The self-report scales were used for the assessment of depression and stigma and sociodemographic data and clinical data were taken from patients’ clinical charts. Depression was assessed with Center for Epidemiological Study-Depression scale (CES-d) and the presence of stigma using Cataldo Lung Cancer Stigma Scale (CLCSS). The research also assessed the associations between stigma, depression, smoking and sociodemographic variables (age and gender) and tumor stage according to TNM classification. Results Depression was present in 38.7% of the participants. Depression and stigma were significantly correlated (r=0.365). Stigma and depression were not associated with smoking and other measured sociodemographic variables. Stigma was the sole predictor of depression in logistic regression analysis. Conclusion Depression and stigma are interconnected in patients with lung cancer, and considering their impact on the illness outcome, they need to be addressed in clinical work.