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Systematic review
Prevalence of depression in patients with cancer in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis
  1. Aidin Aryankhesal1,2,
  2. Ahmad Ghashghaee1,3,
  3. Elnaz Sardari3,
  4. Sara Mahmoudi3,
  5. Samira Alihosseini1,
  6. Afsaneh Dehnad4,
  7. Mahshid Roohravan Benis3 and
  8. Dorsa Gharagozlou5
  1. 1 Health Management and Economics Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  2. 2 Department of Health Services Management, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  3. 3 Student Research Committee, Faculty of Health Management and Information Sciences Branch, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  4. 4 Department of Foreign Languages, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  5. 5 Department of Biology, Tehran Medical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
  1. Correspondence to Mr Ahmad Ghashghaee; ahmad.ghashghaee1996{at}gmail.com

Abstract

Introduction It is generally accepted that depression, affecting the quality of life, is a serious and common complication in patients with cancer. Given that there is no integrated study on this topic in Iran, the present study sought to investigate the prevalence of depression in patients with cancer by a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods To meet the study objectives, all English and Persian papers published from 2000 to January 2018 were systematically collected and the data were extracted for analysis.

Results There were 14 studies which were selected on the basis of the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total number of 2831 patients with cancer had participated in the studies. The prevalence of depression among Iranian patients with cancer was 35% (95% CI 16% to 70%) based on random effects model. Among various types of cancer, the highest prevalence of depression appeared to patients suffering from breast cancer.

Conclusion The prevalence of depression among patients with cancer in Iran was higher than the developed countries. As depression affects the quality of life of patients with cancer, the results can help policymakers and service providers in planning to reduce the prevalence of depression.

  • depression
  • neoplasms
  • cancer
  • multimorbidity
  • Iran

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2018-001724

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    Footnotes

    • Correction notice This article has been updated since it was first published. The article type has been changed to Systematic review.

    • Contributors Conception and design of study: AG, AA. Acquisition of data: AG, ES, SM, DG. Analysis and/or interpretation of data: AA, SA, MRB. Drafting the manuscript: AG, AA. Revising the manuscript critically for important intellectual content: AA, AD. Approval of the version of the manuscript to be published: AG, AA, ES, SM, DG, SA, MRB.

    • Funding This research was supported by the Iran University of Medical Sciences and Student Research Committee of Faculty of Health Management and Information Sciences Branch that provided expertise that greatly assisted the research.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.