Prevalence of Depression in Hemophilia Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Chronic and debilitating diseases induce several psychiatric consequences. The current research determines the prevalence of depression in hemophilia patients. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 80 hemophilia patients referred to Mohammad Kermanshahi Hospital in Iran in 2020. The subjects were selected using the sampling method. The data collection tool includes a demographic information checklist, clinical and medical records, and Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II). Data analysis was performed using frequency, percentage, and Chi-square tests. Results: The results demonstrated that the prevalence of depression in hemophilia patients was 57.5%. Furthermore, the prevalence of depression was not associated with age, education, occupation, marital status, type of hemophilia, disease severity, age of onset (i.e., disease diagnosis age), orthopedic complications, and monthly bleeding episodes ( P-Values > 0.05). However, among the patients who consumed narcotics, only 25.8% were not depressed; on the other hand, 53.1% of those who did not consume narcotics were. A clear statistically significant correlation between narcotics use and the prevalence of depression was presented (P-Value < 0.01). Conclusions: The present study reveals a significant prevalence of depression among hemophilia patients, with a notable correlation observed between depression rates and the use of narcotics drugs.