Circumstances of suicide among individuals with a history of cancer

Massetti, Greta M.; Holland, Kristin M.; Jack, Shane P. D.; Ragan, Kathleen; Lunsford, Natasha Buchanan

doi:10.1002/pon.4720

Cited by 18 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…This represents a tenfold increased rate compared with European countries, for example, Italy and Germany 46 . In the USA, cancer patients show an increased odds ratio (OR) of 1.35 (95% CI = 1.17-1.56) of dying by suicide by firearms compared with the general population 47 .…”

Section: Nature Medicinementioning

confidence: 99%

Suicide risk and mortality among patients with cancer

Heinrich

Hofmann

Baurecht

et al. 2022

Nat Med

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he Global Burden of Disease Collaboration reported 24.6 million incident cancer cases for 2017, causing 233.5 disability-adjusted life-years and an increasing cancer incidence rate during the last 1.5 decades in 123 of 195 countries 1 . For a patient, a diagnosis of cancer is one of the most dramatic and life-changing events, representing a severe psychosocial stressor 2 . Patients with cancer may die by suicide for a number of reasons, including anxiety, pain, loss of perspectives and previous coping strategies, treatment-related adverse events and fatigue 3 . Suicide is a global public health concern. More than 800,000 people die by suicide each year, with 20 suicidal attempts being carried out for each death by suicide 4 .Suicidal ideations among patients with cancer may arise through a patient's will for self-autonomy and self-control, but they can also occur in the context of severe depressive symptoms 5 . Whatever the cause, suicides are difficult to handle for next-of-kin and caregivers, who may be affected far beyond the loss of the patient 6 .The effectiveness of comprehensive psychological, psychiatric and psychotherapeutic management of patients with cancer is underscored by the estimation that every US$1.00 spent on psychotherapeutic interventions and interventions that strengthen linkages among different health-care providers saves US$2.50 in the cost of suicides 7 .Increased suicide rates in patients with cancer compared with the general population have been observed for decades in different populations around the globe 8-23 . However, only few meta-analyses examined suicide risk among patients with cancer and those studies lacked a comprehensive literature search, generated incomplete findings regarding certain risk groups and/or analyzed only specific cancer entities, and/or presented only incidence rates without comparisons with the general population [24][25][26][27][28][29] . The research objectives of the present study were, therefore, to quantify overall suicide mortality in patients with cancer compared with the general population, followed by comprehensive subgroup analyses to identify specific risk factors of particular interest, including cancer prognosis, cancer stage, time since diagnosis, gender, ethnicity, marital status and geographic region, which have not been performed in a meta-analysis to date. Our aim was to gain a deeper knowledge of risk factors for suicide in patients with cancer to enhance oncological and psychiatric practice, improve the quality of life of patients with a cancer diagnosis and help develop targeted interventions. ResultsStudy population. Our database search led to 12,188 records; an additional 5 studies were manually added by the authors. After exclusion of duplicates, 7,565 records were screened by titles and abstracts. A total of 768 of 934 reports did not meet the inclusion criteria and were excluded during full text screening (Fig. 1). In 62 of the remaining 166 cohort studies, results were presented as standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and were ther...

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Section: Nature Medicinementioning

confidence: 99%

Suicide risk and mortality among patients with cancer

Heinrich

Hofmann

Baurecht

et al. 2022

Nat Med

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…It has been seen that countries with a stricter pesticide purchasing policy have reduced the number of suicides [ 37 , 38 ]. It is possible to understand that suicide can be related to the culture and accessibility to the suicide method in each country and region [ 39 , 40 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Factors Associated with the Risk of Suicide in a Brazilian Capital: Cross-Sectional Study

Mendes

Santos

Castro³

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Suicide and suicide attempts are considered global health problems. With regard to the main causes of unnatural deaths, Brazil ranks as the eighth country with the highest absolute number of suicides. The aim of this study was to analyze the factors associated with the risk of suicide in a metropolitan city in Brazil. This was a cross-sectional study carried out in Recife, in the northeast region of Brazil. Epidemiological surveillance was conducted on the information systems regarding attempted suicide, suicide, and undetermined deaths in the period from 2007 to 2017. A record linkage between the information systems was performed. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis, and logistic regression were performed with an adopted a significance level of 5%. In the city of Recife, there were 4495 suicide attempts in the period, and the most frequent suicide attempts were by single females, aged between 20 and 39 years old, and who used either medication or poison to die by suicide. A total of 141 individuals died by suicide, and exogenous intoxication was the most common method. Knowing the common characteristics and associated factors of those who attempt and die by suicide is key for the development of prevention policies and intervention strategies for suicide.

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“…Collectively, these factors might aggravate the risk for neuropsychiatric illnesses, including suicidality. Increasing risk for the onset of SI during adulthood among pediatric survivors of brain tumors has also been reported [ 12 , 50 ]. Given the unexpectedly long survival of the patient affected by a glioblastoma presented in this case, the “survivor’s guilt” might have developed and ultimately triggered SI [ 12 , 50 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suicidality in Patients with Brain Tumors: A Brief Literature Review with Clinical Exemplar

et al. 2020

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Background: Suicidality and brain tumors are two life-threatening conditions and, somewhat unexpectedly, the associations between them have scarcely been reported. Objective: In this study, we aimed to provide a brief literature review of epidemiological studies on suicidal ideation (SI) and suicidal behavior (SB) in patients with brain tumors. To illustrate various aspects of brain tumors that potentially underlie the emergence of suicidality, the review is supplemented with a clinical exemplar of a long-term survivor of brain tumor (glioblastoma) who experienced persistent SI. Furthermore, we discuss putative both neurobiological (including anatomical and immunological) and psychosocial mechanisms that might be accountable for the development of SI and SB in patients with brain tumors. Conclusions: While the etiology of this phenomenon appears to be multifactorial and still remains a subject of much debate, it is of critical importance to identify patients for which a psychiatric evaluation could recognize, in a timely manner, a possible suicide risk and alleviate the deep related suffering, by appropriate psychopharmacological and supportive and psychotherapeutic interventions.

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Circumstances of suicide among individuals with a history of cancer

Abstract: Findings highlight the potential to identify high-risk populations for suicide prevention in clinical practice.

Cited by 18 publications

References 26 publications

Suicide risk and mortality among patients with cancer

Suicide risk and mortality among patients with cancer

Analysis of Factors Associated with the Risk of Suicide in a Brazilian Capital: Cross-Sectional Study

Suicidality in Patients with Brain Tumors: A Brief Literature Review with Clinical Exemplar

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