Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters , Eric Adjei Boakye , Matthew C Simpson , Longwen Zhao , Kahee A. Mohammed , Travis M Loux , Mark Alex Varvares , Mario Schootman
Background: Cancer survivors have higher risks of dying from suicide compared with noncancer patients as well as the general United States population. This risk may differ based on gender and may be increasing due to the concomitant increase in the number of cancer survivors in the United States. This study aimed at describing the differences and identifying suicide risk trends based on gender. Methods: We queried the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results 18 database from 2000-2014 for all cancer deaths confirmed as suicide. Mortality rates from suicide was estimated for the 20 most common cancers in the United States, including lung, pancreatic, and head and neck cancers, three sites with leading suicide rates. Multivariate Poisson regression estimated mortality rate ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), stratified by sex (when applicable), and adjusting for site, race, marital status, age, year and stage of diagnosis. Results: There were 4,769 suicides observed among 4,427,272 cancer survivors from 2000-2014, yielding an incidence rate of 23.6 suicides per 100,000 person-years. Of these, 84.1% were suicides among male cancer survivors. Males cancer survivors were almost six times more likely to die from suicide compared with females (aRR = 5.62, 95% CI:5.17, 6.11). For males, increasing age (ref: 20-39 years) was associated with increasing risk of suicide: 40-59 years (aRR = 1.50, 95% CI: 1.22, 1.84), 60-69 years (aRR = 1.85, 95% CI: 1.50, 2.28), 70+ years (aRR = 2.52, 95% CI: 2.04, 3.11). It was the reverse in female survivors, where 60-69 (aRR = 0.71, 95% CI 0.61, 0.82) and 70+ year olds (aRR = 0.49, 95% CI 0.42, 0.57) were less likely than 20-39 years to commit suicide. Finally, compared with 2000-2004, female survivors diagnosed in 2010-2014 were 32% (aRR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.19, 1.47) more likely to commit suicide, whereas male survivors were only 12% (aRR = 1.12, 95% CI 1.02, 1.23) more likely to commit suicide in the same period. Conclusions: There are significant male vs. female differences in suicide risks among cancer survivors, and there may have been an increased risk of suicide among women of reproductive age, and in the last decade. Survivors of cancer need surveillance to optimize survivorship and decrease suicide risks.
Disclaimer
This material on this page is ©2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology, all rights reserved. Licensing available upon request. For more information, please contact licensing@asco.org
Abstract Disclosures
2018 Cancer Survivorship Symposium
First Author: Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters
2018 Cancer Survivorship Symposium
First Author: Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters
2020 ASCO Virtual Scientific Program
First Author: Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters
2024 ASCO Quality Care Symposium
First Author: Talya Salz