2013/09/16 by A. M. H. Krebber, L. M. Buffart, G. Kleijn +8 · 1 citation
paper · doi:10.1002/pon.3409
Abstract Objective We aimed to investigate the prevalence of depression in cancer patients assessed by diagnostic interviews and self‐report instruments, and to study differences in prevalence between type of instrument, type of cancer and treatment phase. Methods A literature search was conducted in four databases to select studies on the prevalence of depression among adult cancer patients during or after treatment. A total of 211 studies met the inclusion criteria. Pooled mean prevalence of depression was calculated using Comprehensive Meta‐Analysis. Results Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale—depression subscale (HADS‐D) ≥ 8, HADS‐D ≥11, Center for Epidemiologic Studies ≥ 16, and (semi‐)structured diagnostic interviews were used to define depression in 66, 53, 35 and 49 studies, respectively. Respective mean prevalence of depression was 17% (95% CI = 16–19%), 8% (95% CI = 7–9%), 24% (95% CI = 21–26%), and 13% (95% CI = 11–15%) ( p Conclusions Pooled mean prevalence of depression in cancer patients ranged from 8% to 24% and differed by the type of instrument, type of cancer and treatment phase. Future prospective studies should disentangle whether differences in prevalence of depression are caused by differences in the type of instrument, type of cancer or treatment phase. © 2013 The Authors. Psycho-Oncology published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.