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Insomnia, depression and anxiety in patients urgently referred with suspicion of head and neck cancer

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2023

Thomas Mullan Open the ORCID record for Thomas Mullan [Opens in a new window] ,
Jenny Montgomery Open the ORCID record for Jenny Montgomery [Opens in a new window]  and
Leanne Fleming
Thomas Mullan*
Affiliation:
Glasgow University Medical School, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Jenny Montgomery
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Leanne Fleming
Affiliation:
School of Psychological Sciences and Health, Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
*
Corresponding author: Thomas Mullan; Email: thomasmullan@btinternet.com
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Abstract

Objective

To determine differences in insomnia, depression and anxiety between ENT patients with benign and malignant conditions prior to and after an urgent suspicion of cancer appointment.

Methods

Out-patients with urgent suspicion of cancer completed three psychometric questionnaires prior to their appointment and at two to four weeks post-diagnosis.

Results

There was no significant difference in questionnaire scores between malignant and benign patients prior to the patients’ appointments (p > 0.05 for all questionnaires). In benign patients, there was significant improvement in scores for all questionnaires (p < 0.01) and in malignant patients there was significant worsening of scores for all questionnaires (p < 0.01) at follow-up appointments.

Conclusion

Prior to appointments, patients with benign and malignant conditions experienced similar levels of insomnia, depression and anxiety. Following diagnosis, cancer patients had significantly poorer scores, indicating worsening of these symptoms. In patients with benign diagnoses, all questionnaire scores improved, indicating resolution of their symptoms and possible association between the appointment and their baseline scores.

Keywords

Diagnosishealth planning guidelinesoral pathologypsychologysleep
Type
Main Article
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 138 , Issue 3 , March 2024 , pp. 325 - 330
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of J.L.O. (1984) LIMITED

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Footnotes

Thomas Mullan takes responsibility for the integrity of the content of the paper

Presented at the ENT Scotland Winter Meeting, 3 December 2021, Stirling, Scotland, UK.

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