THE PREVALENCE OF DEPRESSION IN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

To analyze the prevalence of depressive symptoms in women with breast cancer, identifying significant factors for this correlation. A quantitative and descriptive bibliographic research was carried out through an integrative literature review in the National Library of Medicine and Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences databases. The descriptors used in the research were “prevalence”, “ depression” and “breast cancer”. Inclusion criteria were observational studies, newspaper articles and randomized controlled trials on the female gender and in the time interval between 2011 and 2021. Among the selected articles, all showed some prevalence of depression in women with breast cancer and the risk factors found were young women, low social support, advanced stage of cancer, single marital status, presence of religion, among others. It is concluded that depression is a major concern in breast cancer and specific approaches are needed for the emotional improvement of these patients.