To study the prevalence of Psychiatric comorbidity and quality of life (QOL) in patients with Hematological cancer undergoing treatment in a tertiary care center.

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of systematic data on prevalence of various psychiatric comorbidity and QOL in patients with Hematological cancers. AIM: To assess psychiatric comorbidity and QOL in Hematological cancer patients undergoing treatment in a tertiary health care center. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This cross sectional observational study comprises of a sample size of 31 patients of both the sexes with various haematological cancers. Semi structured sociodemographic proforma was administered. Further MINI was applied to screen the presence of psychiatric comorbidity in these patients. HADS and WHO QOL Bref were applied to analyse the prevalence and severity of anxiety, depression and Quality of life. Data was analysed using appropriate statistical tools. RESULTS: The prevalence of Psychiatric comorbidities was found to be 64.52% (n=20) in sample population. Prevalence of depression was 19.35%(n=6), dysthymia 09.68% (n=3), panic disorder 9.68%(n=3), PTSD 3.23%(n=1), GAD 09.68% (n=3) and adjustment disorder in 16.13%(n=5) of the participants. Poor overall quality of life (Mean= 2.25, S. D=± 1.35), and perception of health (Mean=1.67, S.D = ± 0.90.) was reported by participants. CONCLUSION: This study shows that patients with Hematological cancers are at a higher risk of developing psychiatric comorbidities. The QOL of life was also significantly decreased in such patients who were suffering from Hematological cancers.