Levels of anxiety and depression in patients receiving radiotherapy in India

The objective of this study was to detect the prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) prospectively in patients receiving Radiotherapy (RT) during and after treatment. A total of 100 consecutive cancer patients referred for radiotherapy were included. All patients were administered the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) conducted at intake, just before starting RT, after finishing the course of RT, and at 3–4 months follow-up. Anxiety and depression were detected frequently in patients receiving RT both prior to treatment and later during follow-up. Frequency of anxiety increased significantly after initiating RT, but later reduced during the follow up assessments