1. Symptoms of depression and anxiety in patients with thalassemia: prevalence and correlates in the thalassemia longitudinal cohort.
- Author
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Mednick L, Yu S, Trachtenberg F, Xu Y, Kleinert DA, Giardina PJ, Kwiatkowski JL, Foote D, Thayalasuthan V, Porter JB, Thompson AA, Schilling L, Quinn CT, Neufeld EJ, and Yamashita R
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Anxiety ethnology, Anxiety etiology, Asian People psychology, Blood Transfusion psychology, Canada epidemiology, Chelation Therapy psychology, Depression ethnology, Depression etiology, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Patient Compliance, Quality of Life, Risk, Sex Factors, Thalassemia epidemiology, Thalassemia ethnology, Thalassemia therapy, United Kingdom epidemiology, United States epidemiology, White People psychology, Young Adult, Anxiety epidemiology, Depression epidemiology, Thalassemia psychology
- Abstract
Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder that requires lifelong adherence to a complicated and burdensome medical regimen which could potentially impact emotional functioning of patients. The importance of understanding and promoting healthy emotional functioning is crucial not only to psychological well-being, but also to physical health as it has been shown to impact adherence to medical regimens [1-4]. The current study aimed to [1] determine the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in adolescent and adult patients with thalassemia; and [2] explore possible demographic, medical, and psychosocial correlates of these symptoms in 276 patients (14-58 years old, M age = 27.83; 52% female). Overall, most patients did not report experiencing significant symptoms of anxiety and depression (33% of participants indicated experiencing symptoms of anxiety and 11% symptoms of depression). Females and older patients were more likely to experience these symptoms than males and younger patients. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were positively associated with self-report of difficulty with adherence and negatively associated with quality of life. Given these findings, regular screening for anxiety and depression symptoms could help to identify at-risk individuals to provide them with appropriate psychological support with the goal of improving both emotional and physical health., (© 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)
- Published
- 2010
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