Risk of suicide in cancer patients in Western Australia, 1981-2002

Objective: To describe the incidence and risk of suicide in cancer patients in Western Australia from 1981 to 2002. Design, setting and patients: Retrospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with cancer in WA from 1981 to 2002, using data from the WA Linked Database. Main outcome measure: Age‐st...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical journal of Australia 2008-02, Vol.188 (3), p.140-143
Main Authors: Dormer, Nigel R C, McCaul, Kieran A, Kristjanson, Linda J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age
Age factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Australia - epidemiology
Autopsies
Biological and medical sciences
Cancer
Epidemiology
Female
General aspects
Humans
Incidence
Male
Medical diagnosis
Medical prognosis
Medical sciences
Mental disorders
Middle Aged
Mortality
Neoplasms
Neoplasms - mortality
Palliative care
Patients
Population
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Retrospective Studies
Risk Assessment
Risk Factors
Sex role
Statistics
Suicide
Suicide - statistics & numerical data
Suicides & suicide attempts
Western Australia: Social history
Womens health
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Summary:Objective: To describe the incidence and risk of suicide in cancer patients in Western Australia from 1981 to 2002. Design, setting and patients: Retrospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with cancer in WA from 1981 to 2002, using data from the WA Linked Database. Main outcome measure: Age‐standardised mortality ratios (SMRs). Results: A total of 121 533 patients were diagnosed with cancer, corresponding to a total of 543 696 person‐years at risk. There were 129 suicides in this group (108 in men). The SMR for suicide in cancer patients was 1.61 (95% CI, 1.36–1.92). An initial period of peak risk was seen in the first 3 months after cancer diagnosis (SMR, 5.75; 95% CI, 3.89–8.51), mainly in patients with a poor prognosis. A second peak period of risk was found to occur 12–14 months after diagnosis (SMR, 2.33; 95% CI, 1.11–4.89) in those with a good or moderate prognosis. Conclusion: The rate of suicide in cancer patients in WA is low and represents an excess of two to three suicides per year, or 0.3% of all cancer deaths, comparable to studies in other Western countries. The risk is highest in the first 3 months after diagnosis, and a second period of increased risk 12–14 months after diagnosis may occur in response to cancer recurrence or treatment failure.
ISSN:0025-729X
1326-5377
DOI:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2008.tb01555.x