The FINANCIAL — Patients with advanced cancer who are depressed have a shorter life expectancy than other patients, researchers at the University of Liverpool have found.
They found that patients who reported higher levels of depression, and in particular, those who reported thoughts of self-harm, died earlier than those who reported lower levels of depression. This was true for patients of all ages and at all stages of illness, according to University of Liverpool.
“This study, which is one of the largest longitudinal studies ever to be carried out on palliative care patients, reinforces the need for assessment of depression to be available at the end of their life and, in particular, confirms the need to treat depression in this patient group,” said Consultant in Palliative Medicine at the University, Professor Mari Lloyd-Williams, who led the project.
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