Depression is a significant public health concern that is particularly detrimental to physical health when it coexists with a long-term medical condition. It has a negative impact on an individual’s quality of life and can cause problems with healing and recovery. Therefore, the goal of the current study was to assess depression and stress in patients with oral cancer and identify possible factors associated with it. A perceived stress questionnaire (PSS-10) developed by Cohen et al. and a standardized structured modified Hospital-based Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) consisting of seven items assessed on a Likert scale from 0 to 3 (maximum score=21) to assess the severity of the stress and depression. We used the stress scale (PSS-10) to measure the level of perceived uncontrollable, overloading, and unpredictable aspects of one's life. It consisted of 10 items, six of which were negative and the remaining four positive. Each item was rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (very often). The mean age of the participants in this study was 53±4.5 years. Depression scores were shown to be higher among the females (12.25±3.91) when compared to males (11.25±4.65). The mean depression scores were insignificantly different when stratified by age groups (P=0.480), socio-economic status (P=0.166), whereas educational status (P=0.023) and marital status (P=0.0.002) had significant results. The current study results indicate that individuals diagnosed with oral cancer have a significantly higher likelihood of experiencing depression and stress.
