Abstract / Summary
Objectives To estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms before autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in patients with multiple myeloma, and to explore associations with clinician-documented psychosocial characteristics. Methods Single-center, cross-sectional secondary analysis of one pre-transplant psychiatric assessment per participant at a Mexican tertiary hospital. Eligible assessments occurred between June 2023 and April 2026. We included adults with confirmed multiple myeloma who completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale and subsequently underwent autologous HSCT. The primary threshold was PHQ-9 ≥10; PHQ-9 ≥5 (at least mild depressive symptoms) was secondary. Prevalences are reported with exact binomial 95% confidence intervals (CIs). This is a disease-specific secondary analysis of a partially overlapping institutional cohort. Results Among 83 participants (median age, 59 years; 42 women, 50.6%), PHQ-9 ≥10 occurred in 3 participants (3.6%; 95% CI, 0.8–10.2) and PHQ-9 ≥5 in 6 (7.2%; 95% CI, 2.7–15.1). No participant scored in the severe range; median PHQ-9 was 0 (interquartile range, 0–0). At the secondary threshold, at least mild depressive symptoms were observed in 5 of 28 participants not in paid employment and 1 of 55 employed participants (odds ratio, 11.38; 95% CI, 1.18 to 565.16; P=.02). This exploratory comparison rests on six events and is imprecise. PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores correlated (Spearman ρ=0.62; P<.001). Conclusions PHQ-9 scores in the moderate-or-greater range were infrequent in this selected single-center pre-transplant sample (3.6%; 95% CI, 0.8%–10.2%). The exploratory employment-status finding identifies a question for larger studies and should not be read as a confirmed psychosocial correlate.