0000000000064404
AUTHOR
U. Wedding
Requestioning depression in patients with cancer: Contribution of somatic and affective symptoms to Beck's Depression Inventory
Background: Depressive symptoms are a major complaint reported by cancer patients. Somatic and affective symptoms can contribute to depression. Patients and methods: We investigated the prevalence of somatic and affective depressive symptoms with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in 213 hospitalized cancer patients prior to the start of chemotherapy. Results: Seventeen of 213 patients (8%) were screened positive for major depression; 40 (19%) had mild to moderate depressive symptoms. The corresponding figures for somatic and affective symptoms were 33.3% and 2.8% in the patients with major depression and 23.0% and 8.0% in those with mild to moderate depressive symptoms. Female patients, p…