Major depressive disorders in outpatients with cancers at the Nigerian National Hospital.

Objective: Frequently, little attention is paid by clinicians on the psychiatric disorders that may be associated with cancers. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of major depressive disorders in outpatients with cancers at the Radiology Oncology Centre of the National Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria. It also sought to determine the socio-demographic and clinical factors associated with the disorder.

Method: A sample of 177 randomly selected outpatients with cancers was interviewed with socio-demographic questionnaire and the major depressive episode section of the Mini International NeuroPsychiatric Interview at the hospital.

Results: The mean age (SD) of the participants was 48.9 (13.8) years, with females accounting for 61.6% of them. The prevalence of current major depressive disorder, past depressive episode and recurrent depressive disorder were 25.1%, 24.3% and 7.5%, respectively. The current depressive disorder was found to be significantly associated with the presence of disturbing pain and the stage of the disease.

Conclusion: The occurrence of depressive disorders in patients with cancers at the hospital was high. Their assessment and treatment should be prioritized to ensure complete management of the patients with cancer conditions.