Patients with cancer have significantly higher rates of fatal and nonfatal suicide attempts compared with the general population.A longitudinal cohort study suggested that veterans with cancer are at a persistently elevated risk for suicide, with certain subgroups emerging that were previously overlooked.Increased hazards for suicidal self-directed violence occurred among those who were Asian (vs white), unmarried, those with central nervous system or head and neck cancers (vs lung cancer), and those with advanced cancer.
Veterans with cancer are at a persistently elevated risk for suicide, with certain subgroups emerging that were previously overlooked, according to a retrospective longitudinal cohort study.
In the cohort of over 290,000 veterans diagnosed with cancer, there were 2,400 suicidal self-directed violence (SSDV) events, with an overall rate of 203 per 100,000 person-years, reported Donald R. Sullivan, MD, of Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, and co-authors.
Altogether, there were 22 fatal and 181 nonfatal suicide attempts per 100,000 person-years, they noted in JAMA Oncology.
"It's no secret that patients with cancer suffer from higher suicide rates," Sullivan told MedPage Today. What this study challenges is the idea of who is most at risk for suicide.
