Originally published as JCO Early Release 10.1200/JCO.2008.20.5526 on February 17 2009

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Save to my personal folders Download to citation manager Rights & Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Dalton, S. O. Articles by Johansen, C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Dalton, S. O. Articles by Johansen, C. Social Bookmarking                            What's this?

Risk for Hospitalization With Depression After a Cancer Diagnosis: A Nationwide, Population-Based Study of Cancer Patients in Denmark From 1973 to 2003

From the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Danish Cancer Society; Research Unit, Department of Palliative Medicine, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen; and National Center for Register-Based Research, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.

Corresponding author: Susanne O. Dalton, MD, PhD, Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Danish Cancer Society, 49 Strandboulevarden, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark; e-mail: sanne{at}cancer.dk.

Purpose As more people survive cancer, it is necessary to understand the long-term impact of cancer. We investigated whether cancer survivors are at increased risk for hospitalization for depression.

Methods We linked data on all 5,703,754 persons living in Denmark on January 1, 1973, or born thereafter to the Danish Cancer Registry and identified 608,591 adults with a diagnosis of cancer. Follow-up for hospitalization for depression in the Danish Psychiatric Central Register from 1973 through 2003 yielded 121,227,396 person-years and 121,304 hospitalizations for depression. The relative risk (RR) for depression among cancer survivors relative to the cancer-free population was estimated by Poisson regression analysis with adjustment for age and period and stratified by sex, site of cancer, and extent of disease.

Results The risk for depression in the first year after a cancer diagnosis was increased, with RRs ranging from 1.16 (95% CI, 0.90 to 1.51) in women with colorectal cancer to 3.08 (95% CI, 1.88 to 5.02) in men with brain cancer. Decreasing but still significant excess risks during subsequent years were observed for most specific cancers. The risk remained increased throughout the study period for both men and women surviving hormone-related cancers, for women surviving smoking-related cancers, and for men surviving virus- and immune-related cancers.

Conclusion This study confirms an increased risk for depression in patients facing a disruptive event like cancer. Early recognition and effective treatment are needed to prevent admission of cancer survivors for depression.

Supported by Grant No. PP03022 from the Psychosocial Cancer Research Foundation of the Danish Cancer Society; Grant No. 2002B063 from the Health Insurance Foundation; and the Danish Medical Association Research Fund/Vibe A. Linholter Estate.

Authors' disclosures of potential conflicts of interest and author contributions are found at the end of this article.

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Facebook    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. Goldzweig, E. Andritsch, A. Hubert, B. Brenner, N. Walach, S. Perry, and L. Baider Psychological distress among male patients and male spouses: what do oncologists need to know? Ann. Onc., October 11, 2009; (2009) mdp398v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Saini, L. Ostacoli, G. Gorzegno, R. L. Picci, L. Dogliotti, P. M. Furlan, and A. Berruti Risk of Depressive Events in Long-Term Surviving Patients Affected by Hormone-Related Cancer According to Time After Diagnosis J. Clin. Oncol., September 1, 2009; 27(25): e91 - e92. [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. O. Dalton, T. M. Laursen, L. Ross, P. B. Mortensen, and C. Johansen Reply to A. Saini et al J. Clin. Oncol., September 1, 2009; 27(25): e93 - e94. [Full Text] [PDF]