Muhammad Omar Qureshi, Nasir Khokhar, Farzana Shafqat.
Severity of depression in hepatitis B and hepatitis C patients.
J Coll Physicians Surg Pak Jan ;22(10):632-4.

Objective: To assess and compare the severity of depression in chronic hepatitis B (CHB), chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and healthy subjects. Study Design: Comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad from July 2011 to February 2012. Methodology: A total of 206 subjects were divided in three groups. Group-I (chronic hepatitis C, n = 95), group-II (chronic hepatitis B, n = 29) and group-III (healthy subjects, n = 82). They were matched for age, gender and socioeconomic status and were compared for frequency and severity of depression as measured by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: Some degree of depression was noted in all groups. Frequency of depression was 72.6% in group-I, 58.6% in group-II and 37.8% in group-III (p value < 0.001). Conclusion: Both CHC and CHB had high frequency of some degree of depression. Hepatitis C patients had more depressive features than CHB. It is worthwhile to do more close mental health observation in them. A multidisciplinary team including a psychiatric specialist can help in this approach.

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