Characteristics of cancer patients who died by suicide in the Tokyo metropolitan area

The purpose of this study was to investigate the sociodemographic characteristics of cancer patients who died by suicide in comparison with cancer-free cases. Suicide data from the Tokyo Medical Examiner's Office from 2009 to 2013 were extracted retrospectively. A total of 503 (5.1%) out of 984...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Japanese journal of clinical oncology 2017-05, Vol.47 (5), p.458-462
Main Authors: Fujimori, Maiko, Hikiji, Wakako, Tanifuji, Takanobu, Suzuki, Hideto, Takeshima, Tadashi, Matsumoto, Toshihiko, Yamauchi, Takashi, Kawano, Kenji, Fukunaga, Tatsushige
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Chi-Square Distribution
Cities - statistics & numerical data
Female
Humans
Incidence
Male
Middle Aged
Neoplasms - epidemiology
Suicide - statistics & numerical data
Tokyo - epidemiology
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Summary:The purpose of this study was to investigate the sociodemographic characteristics of cancer patients who died by suicide in comparison with cancer-free cases. Suicide data from the Tokyo Medical Examiner's Office from 2009 to 2013 were extracted retrospectively. A total of 503 (5.1%) out of 9841 people who committed suicide had cancer; age ranged from 26 to 97 years. The cancer patients were significantly older than the cancer-free cases. There were significantly more cancer patients with cohabiters than cancer-free cases with cohabiters. Only half of young to middle-aged subjects had a job in both groups. There were significantly more cancer patients who lived on pensions and welfare assistance, and less cancer patients who drink or smoke than those without cancer. Given the high incidence of suicide in elderly cancer patients, healthcare professionals should pay attention for risk even in cancer patients who have cohabiters, benefit from a pension, and do not drink or smoke.
ISSN:0368-2811
1465-3621
DOI:10.1093/jjco/hyx003