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

Mullan, Thomas and Montgomery, Jenny and Fleming, Leanne (2023) Insomnia, depression and anxiety in patients urgently referred with suspicion of head and neck cancer. Journal of Laryngology and Otology. pp. 1-30. ISSN 0022-2151 (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022215123000889)

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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 (USOC) appointment. Methods: USOC outpatients completed three psychometric questionnaires prior to their appointment and 2-4 weeks post-diagnosis. Results: There was no significant difference in questionnaire scores between malignant and benign patients prior to the appointment (p>0.05 for all questionnaires). In benign patients, there was significant improvement in scores for all questionnaires (p Conclusion: Prior to appointments, patients with benign and malignant conditions experience similar levels of insomnia, depression and anxiety. Following diagnosis, cancer patients have 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.