TY - JOUR
T1 - Risk factors for feelings of sadness and suicide attempts among cancer survivors in South Korea
T2 - Findings from nationwide cross-sectional study (KNHANES IV-VI)
AU - Choi, Jeewoong
AU - Lee, Mijo
AU - Ki, Myung
AU - Lee, Ju Yeong
AU - Song, Yeong Jun
AU - Kim, Miram
AU - Lee, Sunyoung
AU - Park, Soonjoo
AU - Lim, Jiseun
N1 - Funding Information:
Contributors JL had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data. JL, JC and ML were involved in study concept and design. JL, JC, ML and MK were involved in acquisition of data. JL, JC, ML and J-YL were involved in analysis and interpretation of data. JL, JC, ML and MK were involved in drafting of the manuscript. JL, Y-JS, SL and SP were involved in critical revision of the manuscript. JC and ML were involved in statistical analysis. JL was involved in study supervision. Funding This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (approval number: NRF-2015R1C1A1A02037283) awarded to JL. This research was partly supported by the Social Science Program (grant number: NRF-2014S1A3A2035458) through the NRF and Korea University grant (K1625561) awarded to MK.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Article author(s). All rights reserved.
PY - 2017/12/1
Y1 - 2017/12/1
N2 - Introduction As the number of cancer survivors is rapidly increasing with the increased incidence of the disease and improved survival of patients, the prevalence of, and risk factors for, mental health problems and suicidality among cancer survivors should be examined. Methods and analysis Using data obtained from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007-2013), we examined 1285 and 33 772 participants who had been and never been diagnosed with cancer, respectively. We investigated the risks of feelings of sadness and suicide attempts among cancer survivors and general population and examined differences in the risks of cancer survivors among subgroups according to cancer-related characteristics. Results The median age of survivors at the time of the survey and at diagnosis was 63 and 54 years, respectively. After adjusting for sex, level of education, household income, occupation, marital status, cancer type, current status of treatment, age at diagnosis and years since diagnosis, the risk of suicide attempts was significantly higher in participants diagnosed with cancer before 45 years of age compared with those diagnosed at 45-64 years (adjusted OR=3.81, 95% CI 1.07 to 13.60, P=0.039), and the higher risk of suicide attempts with borderline significance was found in those for whom more than 10 years had passed since diagnosis compared with those for whom the diagnosis was made only 2-10 years ago (adjusted OR=3.38, 95% CI 0.98 to 11.70, P=0.055). However, feelings of sadness were not significantly associated with any cancer-related characteristic. Conclusion Our results reveal an increased risk of suicide attempts among cancer survivors diagnosed early in life and in those for whom more than 10 years has passed since the diagnosis, suggesting the need for intensive monitoring and support for mental health problems and suicidal risks in this population.
AB - Introduction As the number of cancer survivors is rapidly increasing with the increased incidence of the disease and improved survival of patients, the prevalence of, and risk factors for, mental health problems and suicidality among cancer survivors should be examined. Methods and analysis Using data obtained from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007-2013), we examined 1285 and 33 772 participants who had been and never been diagnosed with cancer, respectively. We investigated the risks of feelings of sadness and suicide attempts among cancer survivors and general population and examined differences in the risks of cancer survivors among subgroups according to cancer-related characteristics. Results The median age of survivors at the time of the survey and at diagnosis was 63 and 54 years, respectively. After adjusting for sex, level of education, household income, occupation, marital status, cancer type, current status of treatment, age at diagnosis and years since diagnosis, the risk of suicide attempts was significantly higher in participants diagnosed with cancer before 45 years of age compared with those diagnosed at 45-64 years (adjusted OR=3.81, 95% CI 1.07 to 13.60, P=0.039), and the higher risk of suicide attempts with borderline significance was found in those for whom more than 10 years had passed since diagnosis compared with those for whom the diagnosis was made only 2-10 years ago (adjusted OR=3.38, 95% CI 0.98 to 11.70, P=0.055). However, feelings of sadness were not significantly associated with any cancer-related characteristic. Conclusion Our results reveal an increased risk of suicide attempts among cancer survivors diagnosed early in life and in those for whom more than 10 years has passed since the diagnosis, suggesting the need for intensive monitoring and support for mental health problems and suicidal risks in this population.
KW - attempted suicide
KW - neoplasms
KW - republic of korea
KW - survivors
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85050889218&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016130
DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016130
M3 - Article
C2 - 29247081
AN - SCOPUS:85050889218
SN - 2044-6055
VL - 7
JO - BMJ Open
JF - BMJ Open
IS - 12
M1 - e016130
ER -
