Suicide after breast cancer: an international population-based study of 723,810 women

Catherine Schairer; Linda Morris Brown; Bingshu E Chen; Regan Howard; Charles F Lynch; Per Hall; Hans Storm; Eero Pukkala; Aage Anderson; Magnus Kaijser; Michael Andersson; Heikki Joensuu; Sophie D Fosså; Patricia A Ganz; Lois B Travis

doi:10.1093/jnci/djj377

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Suicide after breast cancer: an international population-based study of 723,810 women

Journal article

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Suicide after breast cancer: an international population-based study of 723,810 women

Catherine Schairer, Linda Morris Brown, Bingshu E Chen, Regan Howard, Charles F Lynch, Per Hall, Hans Storm, Eero Pukkala, Aage Anderson, Magnus Kaijser, …

JNCI : Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol.98(19), pp.1416-1419

10/04/2006

DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djj377

PMID: 17018788

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Abstract

Few studies have examined long-term suicide risk among breast cancer survivors, and there are no data for women in the United States. We quantified suicide risk through 2002 among 723,810 1-year breast cancer survivors diagnosed between January 1, 1953, and December 31, 2001, and reported to 16 population-based cancer registries in the United States and Scandinavia. Among breast cancer survivors, we calculated standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and excess absolute risks (EARs) compared with the general population, and the probability of suicide. We used Poisson regression likelihood ratio tests to assess heterogeneity in SMRs; all statistical tests were two-sided, with a .05 cutoff for statistical significance. In total 836 breast cancer patients committed suicide (SMR = 1.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.28 to 1.47; EAR = 4.1 per 100,000 person-years). Although SMRs ranged from 1.25 to 1.53 among registries, with 245 deaths among the sample of US women (SMR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.32 to 1.70), differences among registries were not statistically significant (P for heterogeneity = .19). Risk was elevated throughout follow-up, including for 25 or more years after diagnosis (SMR = 1.35, 95% CI = 0.82 to 2.12), and was highest among black women (SMR = 2.88, 95% CI = 1.44 to 5.17) (P for heterogeneity = .06). Risk increased with increasing stage of breast cancer (P for heterogeneity = .08) and remained elevated among women diagnosed between 1990 and 2001 (SMR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.18 to 1.57). The cumulative probability of suicide was 0.20% 30 years after breast cancer diagnosis.

Registries

United States - epidemiology

Risk Assessment

Humans

Middle Aged

Survivors

Suicide - statistics & numerical data

Breast Neoplasms - complications

Adult

Breast Neoplasms - mortality

Female

Aged

Scandinavian and Nordic Countries - epidemiology

Details

Title: Subtitle: Suicide after breast cancer: an international population-based study of 723,810 women
Creators: Catherine Schairer - Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 6120 Executive Blvd., Rm. 8020, MSC 7244, Rockville, MD 20852-7244, USA. schairec@exchange.nih.gov
Linda Morris Brown - National Institutes of Health
Bingshu E Chen
Regan Howard
Charles F Lynch
Per Hall
Hans Storm
Eero Pukkala
Aage Anderson
Magnus Kaijser
Michael Andersson
Heikki Joensuu
Sophie D Fosså
Patricia A Ganz
Lois B Travis
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: JNCI : Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol.98(19), pp.1416-1419
DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djj377
PMID: 17018788
NLM abbreviation: J Natl Cancer Inst
ISSN: 1460-2105
eISSN: 1460-2105
Publisher: Oxford University Press; United States
Grant note: Intramural NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 10/04/2006
Academic Unit: Epidemiology
Record Identifier: 9983996070202771

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