Publication:

Anxiety and depression among newly diagnosed breast cancer patients in a referral hospital in Lagos, Nigeria

Background Breast cancer, as a prevalent cancer type, often introduces substantial psychological stress, manifesting frequently as anxiety and depression. Globally, depression and anxiety affect many cancer patients, worsening their prognosis and quality of life.  This study addresses this gap by assessing anxiety and depression prevalence among newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.

Methods This cross-sectional study included 150 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH). Participants completed a structured questionnaire covering socio-demographic information and psychological assessments using a validated depression, anxiety, stress, scale (DASS 21-questionnaire) measuring anxiety, depression and stress. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS version 27.0, with associations between mental health outcomes and patient characteristics assessed using chi-square tests. Key relationships were considered statistically significant at p≤0.05.

Results The majority were females (82%) and over the age of 40 (86.7%). Anxiety was more prevalent than depression, with 81.6% of breast cancer patients experiencing anxiety compared to 5.7% with depression. Anxiety was significantly higher among patients self-funding their treatment, as 84.2% of these participants displayed symptoms, suggesting that financial burden influences mental health outcomes (p=0.018).

Conclusions The study highlights a substantial prevalence of anxiety among newly diagnosed breast cancer patients in Lagos.