According to a recent meta-analysis published in the journal Breast Cancer, four out of 10 women with breast cancer globally experience anxiety.
Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 36 studies (n=16,298) across 17 countries identified through a literature search on the PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases.
Based on the random effects model, the overall prevalence of anxiety in women with breast cancer was 41.9% (95% CI, 30.7-53.2%). The global prevalence for mild or moderate anxiety was 44.2% (95% CI, 32.9-55.4%) and for major anxiety was 20.0% (95% CI, 13.3-26.7%). Regional subgroup analysis based on WHO regions showed that the prevalence of anxiety was the highest in the Eastern Mediterranean region, followed by Southeast Asia and lowest in the Americas and Europe.
The author suggests that the study "emphasizes the importance of establishing routine mental health screening for breast cancer patients to prevent mental disorders.” They added that health care personnel have a crucial role in the timely diagnosis and treatment of anxiety, which is one of the most common mental illnesses among cancer patients.
