Prevalence of Depression in Patients with Hematologic Diseases in Marrakesh, Morocco: A Single Center Experience

Depression in patients with cancer negatively influences their physical symptoms, treatment success, coping, and quality of life and is associated with increased mortality. The reported prevalence of emotional distress in patients followed in hematology varies widely across studies. This study investigated the prevalence of depression and explored the possible associated factors in patients followed in a hematological department. METHODS: in this descriptive cross-sectional study of patients followed in the hematology department of the University Hospital Mohammed VI of Marrakesh between August 2020 and December 2020, depression symptoms were assessed using Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview test and Beck Depression Inventory. RESULTS: 150 patients participated. Regarding their underlying pathology, 60% (90 patients) of patients were newly diagnosed with leukemia, and 8% patients were admitted for chronic anemia and 12% for lymphoma. Forty-eight percent of them had a characterized depressive episode. Four percent of these episodes were severe, 55% were moderate, and 41% were mild. Among all the factors, multivariate analysis showed that high prevalence of depression was associated with female gender and poor prognosis estimation by the patient.