Epidemiological assessment of distress during chemotherapy: who is affected?

Following the rise in the incidence of cancer, the need for chemotherapy has escalated, as have its side effects. Psychological distress is one of the known side effects of chemotherapy; however, it has not received adequate attention. The purpose of this study was to measure psychological distress in patients receiving chemotherapy, making comparisons on the basis of age, gender, marital status, and chemotherapy dose, and to assess the patients' willingness to continue with treatment.

A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on outpatients receiving chemotherapy beyond the first dose at the Radiation & Isotopes Centre Khartoum (Rick). Data were collected via a face-to-face interview with the patients using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

Among patients undergoing chemotherapy, 55 (25.5%) experienced anxiety and depression. Of the 216 patients recruited, the majority were middle-aged (30-50 years old) married women. Development of psychological distress followed a U-shaped curve in relation to the number of chemotherapy doses received. Patients who received 1-5 and >10 doses experienced more psychological distress than those who received 6-10 chemotherapy doses. As many as 212 (98%) patients were willing to continue with chemotherapy.

In our study, psychological distress burdened a quarter of the patients receiving chemotherapy. Psychological distress plays a role in cancer recurrence and recovery; thus, there is a need for a holistic approach to the management of patients with cancer, including psychological evaluation to identify those at risk.