Depression in Mothers of Children with Thalassemia or Blood Malignancies
Author Information
Author(s): Sharghi Afshan, Karbakhsh Mojgan, Nabaei Behrooz, Meysamie Alipasha, Farrokhi AliReza
Primary Institution: Tehran University of Medical Sciences
Hypothesis
Do mothers of children with thalassemia or blood malignancies have higher scores of depression compared with a group of control mothers?
Conclusion
Mothers of children with thalassemia or blood malignancies have significantly higher depression scores than control mothers.
Supporting Evidence
- 46.3% of all mothers had BDI scores higher than 18.
- 56.7% of mothers of children with malignancies had BDI scores higher than 18.
- 51% of mothers of thalassemic children had BDI scores higher than 18.
- 31.4% of control mothers had BDI scores higher than 18.
- The mean BDI score for mothers of thalassemic children was 17.9.
- The mean BDI score for mothers of children with blood malignancies was 20.
- The mean BDI score for control mothers was 13.81.
Takeaway
Moms of kids with serious health issues often feel very sad and stressed, more than moms whose kids are healthy.
Methodology
Cross-sectional study using Beck Depression Inventory to assess depression scores in three groups of mothers.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the selection of hospital-based controls.
Limitations
The study used hospital-based controls, which may not represent the general population.
Participant Demographics
Mothers of children aged <15, divided into three groups: thalassemia, blood malignancies, and control.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.001
Confidence Interval
95% CI = 1.16–4.0 for thalassemia, 95% CI = 1.48–4.99 for blood malignancies
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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