Kačavenda-Babović, DraganaDuric, PredragBabović, RadomirFabri, MilotkaRužić, MajaIgnjatović, Vojislava Bugarski2024-05-102024-05-102021-12-01Kačavenda-Babović, D., Đurić, P., Babović, R., Fabri, M., Ružić, M. i Bugarski Ignjatović, V. (2021) Depression, Anxiety and Quality of Life in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Vojvodina. Acta clinica Croatica, 60(4), pp. 579-589. https://doi.org/10.20471/acc.2021.60.04.030353-946635734493 (pubmed)10.20471/acc.2021.60.04.03http://hdl.handle.net/2436/625513© 2021 The Authors. Published by Sestre Milosrdnice University hospital and Institute of Clinical Medical Research. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.20471/acc.2021.60.04.03The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depression and anxiety among patients with chronic hepatitis C and how depression and anxiety correlate with re-spective health-related quality of life (HRQoL) domains, sociodemographic factors, and clinico-epi-demiological characteristics. This prospective study involved 150 patients with chronic hepatitis C awaiting interferon treatment for hepatitis C and 150 healthy subjects. All individuals enrolled in the study completed the Short Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire and Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale. The symptoms showed greater severity/score among patients with chronic hepatitis C for both depression (t=3.37; p<0.01) and anxiety (t=2.35; p<0.05). Regression analysis was used for estimating the relationship between depression and the set of predictors (domains of the SF-36 questionnaire). Three HRQoL domains (Physical Functioning, Vitality, and Mental Health) were found to have the stron-gest predictive contribution to the occurrence of depression. A series of Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests showed a significant difference in depression level between marital status categories (χ2(2)=7.86, p<0.05). Divorced participants had significantly higher scores compared to married participants (Z=-2.40, p<0.05) and single participants (Z=-2.75, p<0.01). Unemployment was associated with a higher degree of depression and anxiety. There was no association identified between duration of the disease, route of hepatitis C virus transmission, existence of cirrhosis, and depression or anxiety. The findings of this study can assist in developing a standard protocol for the management of chronic hepatitis C that will include psychological assessment and support.application/pdfenLicence for published version: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/chronic hepatitis Cquality of lifedepressionanxietysocioeconomic factorsHumansHepatitis C, ChronicProspective StudiesDepressionAnxietyQuality of LifeYugoslaviaSurveys and QuestionnairesJournal article1333-9451Acta Clinica Croatica2024-05-09