Prevalence and odds of anxiety and depression in cutaneous malignant melanoma: a proportional meta-analysis and regression

Background The psychological burden of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CM) is all-encompassing, affecting treatment adherence, recurrence and mortality. However, the prevalence and risk factors of anxiety and depression in CM remain unclear. Objectives To establish a benchmark pooled prevalence of anxiety and depression in CM, to provide magnitudes of association for clinical, therapeutic and demographic correlates, and to elucidate temporal trends in anxiety and depression from the time of diagnosis. Methods This review followed the MOOSE guidelines. MEDLINE, Embase, PsychINFO, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library were queried from database inception to 24 August 2023. Study selection, data extraction and quality assessment were performed by two independent authors, utilizing both the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) and National Institutes of Health risk-of-bias tools for the latter. The GRADE approach was used to rate the certainty of evidence. Prevalence rates, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and prediction intervals (PIs) were derived using a random-effects model and estimating between- and within-study variance. Results Nine longitudinal and 29 cross-sectional studies were included (7995 patients). Based on the JBI and NIH tools, respectively, quality assessment found 20 and 17 to be at low risk of bias, 12 and 15 to be at moderate risk and 6 and 5 to be at high risk of bias. The prevalence of anxiety [30.6% (95% CI 24.6-37.0; PI 18-47%)] and depression [18.4% (95% CI 13.4-23.9; PI 10-33%)] peaked during treatment, declining to pretreatment levels after 1 year [anxiety: 48% vs. 20% (P = 0.005); depression: 28% vs. 13% (P = 0.03)]. Female sex [odds ratio (OR) 1.8, 95% CI 1.4-2.3; P < 0.001], age < 60 years (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.2-2.0; P = 0.002) and low educational level (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.2-2.0; P < 0.001) were likely to result in a large increase in the odds of anxiety. Depression was 12.3% higher in those with stage IV vs. those with stage I CM (P = 0.05). Relative to immune checkpoint inhibition, the rates of depression were 22% (P = 0.002) and 34% (P < 0.001) higher among patients with advanced-stage CM receiving interferon-alpha and chemotherapy, respectively. A significant reduction in self-reported depression scores was demonstrated over time (P = 0.003). Conclusions Notably, anxiety and depression in CM affect women, those younger than 60 years of age and the less educated, with up to 80% higher odds of anxiety in these groups. Anxiety and depression surge during chemotherapy and interferon treatment, especially in advanced CM. Our findings facilitate risk stratification and underscore the need for multidisciplinary vigilance.