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Volume 6 Issue 2 (February, 2018)

Original Articles

Anxiety and Depression in a Sample of Disfigured Orofacial Cancer Patients at Khartoum Teaching Dental Hospital, Sudan
Zakaria Al Bdour, Elneel Ahmed Mohamed

Background: Patients treated for orofacial cancer have rarely been investigated for psychological morbidity. To address this problem, this study was conducted to estimate the relative prevalence of anxiety and depression in a sample of disfigured Sudanese patients with orofacial cancer. The main objectives of this study is to find the prevalence of anxiety and depression among facially disfigured patients and to study some of their common predictors, namely the age, gender and the education level, and to analyze their relationship. Materials and Methods: Descriptive Cross sectional hospital-based study. Psychometric data were collected from a series of 51 disfigured orofacial cancer patients by questionnaires at Khartoum Teaching Dental Hospital (KTDH) over five months period from Nov.2016-March2017. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were used. Data that collected from the patients included the name, age, gender, and the patient’s educational level. Results: 41.2% of patients exhibited symptoms of psychiatric disturbance; 21.6% were anxious, and 19.6% were depressed. Anxiety was reported in 9.7% of males and in 40% of females. Depression was reported in 6.5% of males and in 40% of females. Anxiety and depression where seen most among young patients of age group 18-29 years (28.6%). Among all patients who are anxious the illiterate category scored the highest level with 45.5% while among the depressed ones the category of elementary education scored the highest level with 50%. Conclusion: The finding of this study showed that anxiety and depression are common among Sudanese patients with facial disfigurement. Women who are disfigured by orofacial cancer are at greater risk for psychosocial dysfunction, therefore screening for anxiety and depression should be a part of routine clinical evaluation for all patients particularly the females who should receive a greater attention in terms of evaluation and treatment. Key words: Anxiety, Depression, Disfigurment. Maxillofacial, Cancer

 
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