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Suicide risk greater among adolescents, young adults with cancer
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Adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer were more likely to exhibit suicidal behavior, according to results of a population-based cohort study.
The risk was highest within the first year after diagnosis.
Researchers used several national registries between 1987 and 2009 to evaluate data from 7.8 million individuals in Sweden aged 15 years or older.
Of them, 12,669 adolescents and young adults — defined as those aged 15 to 30 years — received a cancer diagnosis.
During mean follow-up of 17.4 years, researchers reported 136 suicide attempts and 22 completed suicides among those diagnosed with cancer.
Those with cancer were at an increased risk for suicidal behavior — including suicide and attempted suicide — compared with individuals without cancer (RR=1.6; 95% CI, 1.4-1.9). The risk for suicidal behavior was highest within a year after cancer diagnosis (RR=2.5; 95% CI, 1.7-3.5) and subsequently decreased (RR=1.5; 95% CI, 1.2-1.8).
The increased risks were highest among those with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (RR=3.3; 95% CI, 2-5), cervix cancer (RR=3.1; 95% CI,1.7-4.9), and colon and rectum cancers (RR=2.2; 95% CI, 1.1-4).
Researchers observed the elevated risk in most main cancer types except for thyroid cancer (RR=0.8; 95% CI, 0.2-1.8), melanoma (RR=0.9; 95% CI, 0.5-1.5) and testis cancer (RR=1; 95% CI, 0.5-1.6). However, those results were not statistically significant due to the small percentage of patients with each cancer.
“Our findings of increased risk for suicidal behavior, particularly soon after cancer diagnosis, likely represent the most severe consequence of emotional or physical distress among the adolescent and young adult cancer patients,” the researchers concluded. “Given the advancement of medical treatment and increased survival prospects in oncology, these data motivate refined clinical strategies for emotional support and mental health surveillance for recently diagnosed young cancer patients.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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