Summary of the descriptive characteristics of study participants
| S# | Variables | Total | Screened positive for depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥10) |
| N (%) | N (%) | ||
| Patient-related variables | |||
| 1 | Marital status | ||
| Married | 117 (89) | 43 (37) | |
| Unmarried/single/separated/divorced | 15 (11) | 8 (53) | |
| 2 | Children under 18 years | ||
| Yes | 75 (57) | 32 (43) | |
| No | 33 (25) | 10 (30) | |
| Unmarried | 24 (18) | 9 (38) | |
| 3 | Current employment status | ||
| Able to work | 65 (49) | 18 (28) | |
| Unable to work | 24 (18) | 13 (54) | |
| Unpaid (retired/student/housewives) | 43 (33) | 20 (47) | |
| 4 | Residence | ||
| In Karachi | 49 (37) | 19 (39) | |
| Outside Karachi | 83 (63) | 32 (39) | |
| 5 | Travel cost for one visit (from hometown to hospital) | ||
| 5000–10 000 Rupees | 26 (20) | 5 (19) | |
| 11 000–20 000 Rupees | 39 (30) | 18 (46) | |
| >20 000 Rupees | 18 (13) | 9 (50) | |
| Not applicable | 49 (37) | 19 (39) | |
| 6 | Caregiver at home | ||
| Spouse | 92 (70) | 33 (36) | |
| Parents | 14 (10) | 08 (57) | |
| Others (kids/neighbours/siblings/self) | 26 (20) | 10 (38) | |
| 7 | Heading family | ||
| Yes | 68 (52) | 27 (40) | |
| No | 64 (48) | 24 (38) | |
| 8 | Socioeconomic status (SES) | ||
| Low SES | 22 (17) | 9 (41) | |
| Middle SES | 83 (63) | 32 (39) | |
| High SES | 27 (20) | 10 (37) | |
| 9 | Currently smoking (cigarette, huqa, beeri) | ||
| Yes | 18 (14) | 10 (56) | |
| No | 114 (86) | 41 (36) | |
| 10 | History of psychological distress prior to the diagnosis of brain tumour | ||
| Yes | 7 (5) | 6 (86) | |
| No | 125 (95) | 45 (36) | |
| 11 | Strategies to handle stress | ||
| Isolation | 26 (20) | 10 (38) | |
| Crying | 16 (12) | 7 (44) | |
| Prayers | 48 (36) | 14 (29) | |
| Aggression | 24 (18) | 13 (54) | |
| Leaves home | 1 (0.7) | 1 (1.96) | |
| Sleeping | 13 (9) | 6 (45) | |
| Conversation with family/friends | 10 (7) | 1 (10) | |
| Addictions (smoking/drinking) | 6 (4) | 4 (66) | |
| Mind diversions (listening to music/shopping) | 2 (1) | 0 (0) | |
| 12 | Karnofsky Performance Score (KPS) (functional status) | ||
| KPS scores >70 | 102 (77) | 27 (26) | |
| KPS scores ≤70 | 30 (23) | 24 (80) | |
| Treatment-related variables | |||
| 13 | Overall treatment cost during illness | ||
| 200 000–800 000 Rupees | 45 (34) | 17 (38) | |
| 800 000–1 200 000 Rupees | 47 (36) | 20 (43) | |
| >1 200 000 Rupees | 40 (30) | 14 (35) | |
| 14 | Treatment cost management | ||
| Self-support | 73 (55) | 25 (34) | |
| Family/relative support | 21 (16) | 11 (52) | |
| Welfare from primary treating hospital | 28 (21) | 13 (46) | |
| Medical support from workplace/community | 10 (8) | 2 (20) | |
| 15 | Access to health insurance | ||
| Yes | 15 (11) | 3 (20) | |
| No | 117 (89) | 48 (41) | |
| 16 | Treatment stage at the time of interview | ||
| Only surgical procedure done | 17 (13) | 14 (82) | |
| Referral given to oncology after surgery | 18 (13) | 5 (28) | |
| Oncology treatment started/continued | 25 (19) | 10 (40) | |
| Treatment completed/follow-ups | 72 (55) | 22 (31) | |
| 17 | Current use of steroids | ||
| Yes | 22 (17) | 13 (59) | |
| No | 110 (83) | 38 (35) | |
| 18 | Current use of anti-epileptic drugs | ||
| Yes | 48 (36) | 17 (35) | |
| No | 84 (64) | 34 (40) | |
| 19 | Surgical procedure performed to remove tumour | ||
| Craniotomy/craniectomy | 96 (73) | 41 (43) | |
| Trans-sphenoidal resection | 36 (27) | 10 (28) | |
| 20 | Type of surgery | ||
| Awake (local anaesthesia/scalp block) | 37 (28) | 12 (32) | |
| Conventional (general anaesthesia) | 95 (72) | 39 (41) | |
| 21 | External ventricular drain insertion | ||
| Yes | 7 (5) | 5 (71) | |
| No | 125 (95) | 46 (37) | |
| 22 | Time since diagnosis (in months) | Median: 9.5 | Median: 5 |
| Range:(1–74) | Range:(1–74) | ||
| 25 | Number of chemotherapy cycles | Median: 2.5 | Median: 0 |
| Range: (0–33) | Range:(0–27) | ||
| 26 | Number of radiation cycles | Median: 3.5 | Median: 0 |
| Range: (0–33) | Range:(0–54) | ||
| Tumour-related variables | |||
| 27 | Tumour histology | ||
| Meningioma | 30 (23) | 16 (53) | |
| Pituitary adenoma | 36 (27) | 9 (25) | |
| High-grade glioma (astrocytoma, GBM) | 21 (16) | 9 (43) | |
| Oligodendroglioma | 29 (22) | 8 (28) | |
| Others (schwannoma, intraventricular SOLs, CNS lymphoma, ependymoma, hemangioblastoma, craniopharyngioma, choroid plexus papilloma) | 16 (12) | 9 (56) | |
| 28 | Tumour type | ||
| Benign | 69 (52) | 28 (41) | |
| Malignant | 63 (48) | 23 (37) | |
| 29 | Hemispheric lateralisation | ||
| Left | 60 (45) | 28 (47) | |
| Right | 35 (27) | 13 (37) | |
| Not specified | 37 (28) | 10 (27) | |
| 30 | Tumour grade | ||
| Grade I | 12 (9) | 05 (42) | |
| Grade II | 30 (23) | 14 (47) | |
| Grade III | 30 (23) | 13 (43) | |
| Grade IV | 16 (12) | 7 (47) | |
| Not specified | 44 (33) | 12 (27) | |
| 31 | Cognitive impairment | ||
| Yes | 9 (7) | 5 (56) | |
| No | 123 (93) | 46 (37) | |
| 32 | Tumour recurrence | ||
| Yes | 23 (17) | 14 (61) | |
| No | 109 (83) | 37 (34) | |
| 33 | Brain structures involved (tumour location) | ||
| Frontal lobe | 53 (40) | 23 (43) | |
| Parietal lobe | 30 (22) | 13 (43) | |
| Temporal lobe | 26 (19) | 10 (38) | |
| Occipital lobe | 5 (3) | 1 (20) | |
| Pituitary gland (seller region) | 36 (27) | 9 (25) | |
| Ventricles | 5 (4) | 3 (60) | |
| Cerebellum/CP angle | 7 (4) | 6 (85) | |
| Posterior fossa | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | |
| Basal ganglia | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | |
| 34 | First symptoms before brain tumour diagnosis | ||
| Seizures | 40 (30) | 14 (35) | |
| Headaches | 55 (42) | 25 (45) | |
| Weight loss/gain | 3 (2) | 1 (33) | |
| Mood changes/loss of interest | 1 (1) | 1 (100) | |
| Visual impairment | 36 (27) | 10 (28) | |
| Memory loss | 5 (3) | 3 (60) | |
| Gait instability | 1 (1) | 1 (2) | |
| Nausea/vomiting | 5 (3) | 2 (40) | |
| Unconsciousness | 7 (5) | 2 (29) | |
| Dizziness | 1 (1) | 0 (00) | |
| Slurred speech/unable to write and comprehend | 3 (2) | 1 (33) | |
| Numbness (arms, legs, body) | 2 (1) | 1 (50) | |
| Limb weakness | 2 (1) | 1 (50) | |
| Swelling (facial, orbital) | 3 (2) | 2 (67) | |
| Sexual dysfunction | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | |
| Hearing problems | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | |
CNS, central nervous system; CP, cerebellopontine; GBM, glioblastoma multiforme; PHQ-9, Patient Health Questionnaire-9; SOLs, space-occupying lesions.