Prevalence rates of depression,anxiety,and suicidal ideation in patients with ovarian cancer: A systematic review from 1977 to 2024

Abstract

Objective

Ovarian cancer patients are more likely to have mental disorders than other patients. However, to our knowledge, there has been no systematic analysis of its global epidemiology. Therefore, a systematic review was conducted to identify the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation in ovarian cancer patients in different countries.

Method

We searched PubMed, Embase, Elsevier ScienceDirect, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang Data Knowledge Service Platform, and Duxiu Academic Search Platform to identify observational studies on depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation in patients with ovarian cancer published up to 30 June 2024. We estimated the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation in ovarian cancer patients worldwide and by region, country, research period, and assessment scales.

Results

A total of 31 studies were identified involving 8315 ovarian cancer patients. The prevalence rates of depression and anxiety were 35% and 37%, respectively. In China, the prevalence of suicidal ideation of ovarian cancer patients was 32%. Ovarian cancer patients in Asia had the highest prevalence of depression, while those in Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, etc.) had the lowest. Additionally, the prevalence rates of depression and anxiety increased considerably worldwide after 2000 and have gradually stabilized since then.

Conclusion

This study found that the prevalence of depression and anxiety was high (more than one-third) among ovarian cancer patients. These findings underscore the need for a comprehensive study to address mental health problems in these patients, including the determination of incidence rates, investigation of regional differences, and assessment of comorbidities and treatment strategies.