• Effective Factors on Depression in Breast Cancer Women
  • Zohreh Shahhosseini,1 Forouzan Elyasi,2 Seyed Nouraddin Mousavinasab,3 Leila Shojaee,4 Ehsan Zaboli,5 Elahe Samami,6,*
    1. Sexual and Reproductive Health Research Center. Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. Sari, Iran.
    2. Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Sexual and Reproductive Health Research Center, Addiction Institute, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
    3. Health Sciences Research Center, School of Health, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
    4. Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Gastrointestinal Cancer Research Center Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
    5. Department of Hematology & Oncology, School of Medicine, Gastrointestinal Cancer Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
    6. M.Sc. Student of Midwifery counseling. Student Research committee. Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. Sari, Iran.


  • Introduction: Depression is a common psychiatric complication in women with breast cancer. Reviewing the literature indicates that there are various factors affecting on depression; hence, this study aims to investigate the effective factors on depression in breast cancer women.
  • Methods: In this review, the author applied Google Scholar, SID, Magiran, Science Direct, Scopus and PubMed by suitable keywords from 123 related articles, referred to years 2000 - 2022. Finally, 36 studies were selected to write this review study.
  • Results: The findings were classified in 5 main levels: Demographic factors including (lower age, illiteracy and cancer background in family), medical factors including (stage of disease, type of medication –especially chemotherapy and Mastectomy , hormonal drugs like Tamoxifen, side effects of medication on sexual function, menstruation and fertility), psychological factors including (fear of relapse and death, disappointment, mala-daptive coping strategies and attitudes, depression and mental disorder history, depression background in family, body image disorder), socio-economic factors including (lower income, family problems and lack of social and emotional support by spouse, family, friends and treatment team) and spiritual-religious factors including (low spiritual-religious believes). Reviewing the articles indicates that these factors can increase the risk of depression in patients with breast cancer.
  • Conclusion: As psychological and social factors are significantly related to depression prevalence in women with breast cancer, it is suggested to edit necessary programs and consultations to remove the factors and improve women’s health, by health service providers.
  • Keywords: depression, breast cancer, effective factors, psychological factors, demographic factors