Pre-treatment anxiety and interferon induced depression in hepatitis C patients

Objective: to study the effect of pre-treatment anxiety on interferon induced depression in hepatitis c patients undergoing interferon treatment. methodology: interrupted time series design was used for this study to assess at pre,in 2 follow up visits (after 24th and 48th week) and after completion of the treatment. the depression and anxiety of two groups of women (showing high and low pre-treatment anxiety score on the ipat anxiety scale [ptas]) was measured by the siddiqui shah depression scale (ssds) and the ipat anxiety scale. female patients (n=57) being diagnosed for hepatitis c and prescribed for interferon therapy were selected from three main hospitals of peshawar,through convenience sampling technique. results: the age range of the sample was from 35 to 65 years (54.51+5.11 years). compared to 25 % of the patients having low pre-treatment anxiety scores,32 % of the patients with higher pre-treatment anxiety score experienced significant level of depression at week 24 and 48 during and after completion of the interferon treatment. conclusion: pre-treatment anxiety has significant effect on the levels of depression,hepatitis c patients experience during and after completion of the treatment. © 2015,postgraduate medical institute. all rights reserved.