gms | German Medical Science

27th German Cancer Congress Berlin 2006

German Cancer Society (Frankfurt/M.)

22. - 26.03.2006, Berlin

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Multicentricinvestigation of psychological comorbidity in laryngectomees

Meeting Abstract

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  • corresponding author presenting/speaker Susanne Singer - Medizinische Fakultät, Leipzig, Deutschland
  • Andreas Dietz - Universitätsklinikum, Leipzig
  • Alexandra Meyer - Medizinische Fakultät, Leipzig
  • Cornelia Wulke - Universitätsklinikum, Halle
  • Jens Oeken - Klinikum Chemnitz
  • Eckart Klemm - Krankenhaus Dresden-Friedrichstadt
  • Ute Kienast - Krankenhaus Martha-Maria, Halle-Dölau
  • Andrea Kluge - Bavaria Klinik, Kreischa
  • Manfred Heim - Sonnenbergklinik, Bad Sooden-Allendorf
  • Reinhold Schwarz - Medizinische Fakultät, Leipzig

27. Deutscher Krebskongress. Berlin, 22.-26.03.2006. Düsseldorf, Köln: German Medical Science; 2006. DocOP242

The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.egms.de/en/meetings/dkk2006/06dkk352.shtml

Published: March 20, 2006

© 2006 Singer et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.

Outline

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Objectives: This study attempted to determine the prevalence of mental disorders among laryngectomees and to assess the current status of the supplied psychooncological care.

Patients and Methods: Patients were recruited who were laryngectomized in the years between 1970-2001 at six different otolaryngology-clinics ina region of Central Germany. 189 interviews were conducted. Structured clinical interviews (SCID) and standardized questionnaires (HADS, KFA) were used to assess patients’ mental health. The past and the current status of received psychotherapeutic care was evaluated.

Results: 23% of the patients were diagnosed with mental disorders. The most frequently occurring disorder was alcohol dependency with 8%, followed by affective disorders (7% major depression, 5% minor depression). Only one patient was currently receivingpsychosocial care.

Conclusion: Laryngectomees suffer more often than the general population from psychological comorbidity. Only a fraction of the laryngectomy patients suffering from mental illness were receiving appropriate treatment.