Assessing Psychiatric Characteristics and Death Anxiety Levels in Patients with Lung Cancer

Abstract

Abstract Background Given that lung cancer is the deadliest cancer globally, it not only leads to physical issues but also triggers psychiatric challenges in patients with lung cancer. Research has shown that individuals with lung cancer encounter a higher prevalence of psychiatric issues when compared to patients with other types of cancers. For this reason, we endeavored to examine the levels of death anxiety, as well as the symptoms of depression and anxiety, among patients with lung cancer in our nation. Method The study included 43 patients with lung cancer who were monitored at the Istanbul Sisli Florence Nightingale Hospital’s Medical Oncology Clinic between August 29 and October 29, 2021. Additionally, 41 patients without any history of cancer, who had sought care at the internal medicine clinic, were included as the control group. Results In our study, there was no statistically significant difference in the sociodemographic characteristics of the case and control groups. The case group exhibited statistically significantly higher levels of ASDA, DAS, and HAD-D compared to the control group (p < 0.001, p = 0.002, and p = 0.002, respectively). When evaluating the case group in terms of cut-off scores, it was found that their DAS > 6 and HAD-A ≥ 10 scores were statistically significantly higher than those of the control group (p = 0.049 and p = 0.045, respectively). Within the case group, 55.8% underwent lung surgery, while 44.2% did not undergo lung surgery. There was no statistically significant relationship between DAS and ASDA in the case group (p = 0.271). HAD-A was found to have a statistically significant positive correlation with both DAS and ASDA (p = 0.018 and p = 0.026, respectively). In the case group, a negative and statistically significant correlation was observed between ASDA and educational background levels, whereas a positive and statistically significant relationship was identified between HAD-A and age (p = 0.039 and p = 0.046, respectively). A statistically significant difference in ASDA levels was observed based on educational background (p = 0.044). The ASDA levels of elementary school graduates were statistically significantly higher than those of university graduates (p = 0.004). The DAS and HAD-D scores of individuals who underwent lung surgery were statistically significantly higher than those who did not undergo lung surgery (p < 0.001 and p = 0.003, respectively). In the models derived from the variables in univariate analyses with p-values less than 0.250, the significant determinants identified were HAD-A for DAS, and history of lung surgery, HAD-A and HAD-D for ASDA. Conclusion The results of our study showed that patients with lung cancer had higher levels of depression and anxiety than those without cancer, as well as greater death anxiety. Furthermore, our observations indicated that individuals who underwent surgery exhibited higher levels of depression when compared to those who did not undergo surgical procedures.