Related Experiment Videos
Predicting major depression in brain tumor patients.
David K Wellisch1, Thomas A Kaleita, Donald Freeman
1Department of Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, Calif, USA.
Psycho-Oncology
|July 12, 2002
Summary
Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects 28% of adult brain tumor patients, a rate triple that of other cancer patients. Frontal lobe tumors and family history predict MDD in this population.
Area of Science:
- Neuro-oncology
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Major depressive disorder (MDD) diagnosis in adult brain tumor patients is understudied.
- Utilizing Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) criteria is crucial for accurate diagnosis.
- Previous research has not sufficiently explored MDD prevalence in this specific patient group.
Purpose of the Study:
- To diagnose Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in adult brain tumor patients using DSM-IV criteria.
- To identify key predictors of MDD in this patient population.
- To compare the incidence of MDD in brain tumor patients with other cancer patient cohorts.
Main Methods:
- A structured psychiatric interview based on DSM-IV criteria was administered to 89 adult brain tumor patients.
- Patients were evaluated in an ambulatory neuro-oncology clinic on a one-time basis.
- Multiple regression analysis was employed to identify predictors of MDD.
Main Results:
- Twenty-eight percent (28%) of the adult brain tumor patient sample met DSM-IV criteria for MDD.
- Significant predictors of MDD included frontal lobe tumor location (p=0.001), combined symptoms of sadness and lack of motivation (p=0.0001), and a family psychiatric history (p=0.006).
- The predictive model explained 37% of the variance in MDD (R(2)=0.37).
Conclusions:
- The incidence of MDD in adult brain tumor patients is substantially higher than in other ambulatory cancer patients.
- MDD prevalence in this cohort is approximately triple that reported in previous studies using DSM criteria.
- Frontal region tumor location, specific depressive symptoms, and family psychiatric history are important factors in diagnosing MDD in brain tumor patients.