DEPRESSED MOOD AND DEVELOPMENT OF CANCER

This study was undertaken to determine whether premorbid depressed mood is associated with the development of cancer. Scores on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale were available for 2,264 participants in a mental health study conducted in 1971–1974 in Washington County, Maryland,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of epidemiology 1990-11, Vol.132 (5), p.962-972
Main Authors: LINKINS, ROBERT W., COMSTOCK, GEORGE W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Biological and medical sciences
Carcinogenesis, carcinogens and anticarcinogens
Chemical agents
depression
Depression - complications
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Health Surveys
Humans
Male
Maryland
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
neoplasms
Neoplasms - epidemiology
Neoplasms - etiology
prospective studies
psychological
psychophysiologic disorders
Risk Factors
smoking
Smoking - adverse effects
stress
Stress, Psychological - complications
Surveys and Questionnaires
Tumors
Citations: Items that cite this one
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Summary:This study was undertaken to determine whether premorbid depressed mood is associated with the development of cancer. Scores on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale were available for 2,264 participants in a mental health study conducted in 1971–1974 in Washington County, Maryland, who were still free of cancer 2–4 years later. Over a 12-year follow-up period (1975–1987), 169 cancers were diagnosed among these persons. While there was only a slight association of depressed mood with subsequent cancer among the total study population, the association was much stronger among cigarette smokers. Compared with the risk seen in never smokers without depressed mood, depressed mood at the highest level of smoking was associated with relative risks of 4.5 for total cancer, 2.9 for cancer at sites not associated with smoking, and 18.5 for cancer at sites associated with smoking.
ISSN:0002-9262
1476-6256
DOI:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115739