Prediagnosis Depression Rather Than Anxiety Symptoms Is Associated with Decreased Ovarian Cancer Survival: Findings from the Ovarian Cancer Follow-Up Study (OOPS)

Abstract

Background: The relationship between prediagnosis depression, anxiety symptoms, and ovarian cancer (OC) survival is unknown. We aimed to explore these associations to provide further epidemiological evidence. Methods: We investigated the relationship between prediagnosis depression, anxiety symptoms, and OC survival in a prospective cohort study of newly diagnosed OC patients aged 18−79 years. Depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 at diagnosis, respectively. Deaths were ascertained until 31 March 2021 via medical records and active follow-up. Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) with prediagnosis depression and anxiety symptoms and all-cause mortality of OC. Results: We found 56 (9.4%) and 235 (39.3%) OC patients with depression and anxiety symptoms, respectively. During a median follow-up of 37.2 months (interquartile range 24.7−50.2 months), 130 deaths were confirmed. Compared with non-depression symptoms, patients with prediagnosis depressive symptoms showed a significantly increased risk of OC mortality (HR = 2.10, 95% CI: 1.20−3.70). Of note, the association was still robust when focusing on the OC patients with severe depressive symptoms (HR = 2.10, 95% CI: 1.07−4.12). However, we observed no association between prediagnosis anxiety symptoms of different severity and OC mortality. Interestingly, OC patients with combined moderate depression and anxiety symptoms had a significantly increased risk of OC mortality (HR = 3.23, 95% CI: 1.14−9.11) compared to those with no symptoms of depression and anxiety. Notably, Wilms’s tumor 1 was significantly associated with depression and anxiety symptoms (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Prediagnosis depression increases the risk of OC mortality. Large multicenter studies are required to confirm this finding.

Keywords: anxiety; cohort; depression; ovarian cancer; survival.

Figure 1

Flow of participants through the Ovarian Cancer Follow-Up Study (OOPS) study.

Figure 2

Adjusted hazard ratio and 95% confidence intervals for the association between depression and anxiety symptoms and total mortality among 598 ovarian cancer patients. CI, confidence interval, Ref, reference. Depression symptom was evaluated according to Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Anxiety symptom was evaluated according to Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7.