Original Research Article
Year: 2019 | Month: August | Volume: 6 | Issue: 8 | Pages: 172-176
Risk Factors for Psychiatric Co-Morbidity among Patients with Malignancy in a Tertiary Care Hospital Of Himachal Pradesh, India: A Cross Sectional Study
Vikesh Gupta1, Ravi C. Sharma2, Dinesh Dutt Sharma3, Manish Gupta4, Vineet Kumar5, Rahul Gupta6
1Medical Officer (Psychiatry), HHMH & R, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.
2Director, Medical Education, Himachal Pradesh.
3Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, IGMC, Shimla (H.P.)
4Professor and Head, Department of Radiotherapy, IGMC, Shimla (H.P.)
5OSD, Directorate of Health Services, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.
6District Program Officer, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh.
Corresponding Author: Vineet Kumar
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Cancer is a serious and potentially life-threatening illness which has an effect on physical and emotional wellbeing of patients and their families. The diagnosis of cancer in itself is a stressful event causing significant psychological distress. The aim of the present study was to find out the psychiatric co-morbidity among cancer patients and correlate the morbidity with type of cancer, its severity, treatment and other relevant variables.
Methodology: It was a cross-sectional observational study. 226 consecutive patients were recruited for this study which were already diagnosed with malignancy. A detailed history from the patient and/or a reliable person who knew the patient well was taken as per pre-designed structured format. Diagnosis of psychiatric disorders was made according to ICD-10.[1]
Results: The prevalence of Psychiatric co-morbidity in our study came out to be 35% with 95% Confidence Interval 29-42%. In our study we had observed that patients who were living alone had high percentage of psychiatric disorders as compared to those living with partners and this difference was found to be statistically significant.
Conclusion: Significant percentage of patients with malignancy had co-morbid psychiatric illnesses. Patients with malignancy need careful assessment for the presence of psychiatric co-morbidity especially patients living without partners. Mental health professionals may be included in the treating team.
Key words: Psychiatric co-morbidity, Malignancy, Depression, living alone, ICD-10
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