Suicide attempts and deaths more common among spouses of cancer patients

Spouses of cancer patients have an increased risk of suicide attempts and suicide death, especially in the first year after diagnosis, according to a study published online August 15 in JAMA Oncology.

Qianwei Liu, MD, Ph.D., of Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China, and colleagues estimated the risk of suicide attempt and suicide death among spouses of cancer patients in a nationwide cohort study in Denmark using registry-based data from 1986 to 2016.

The study included 409,338 people whose spouses had cancer between 1986 and 2015, and 2,046,682 people whose spouses had not been diagnosed with cancer during the same period.

The researchers identified 2,714 and 9,994 cases of suicide attempts among exposed and non-exposed individuals, respectively (incidence rates 62.6 and 50.5 per 100,000 person-years), and 711 and 2,270 cases of suicide deaths among exposed and non-exposed individuals, respectively (incidence rates 16.3 and 11.4 per 100,000 person-years).

In spouses of cancer patients, the risk of suicide attempt and death by suicide was increased during follow-up (hazard ratio 1.28 and 1.47, respectively).

The increased risk was highest in the first year after cancer diagnosis (hazard ratios: 1.45 and 2.56 for suicide attempt and suicide death, respectively). If the cancer was diagnosed at an advanced stage or if the spouse died after the cancer diagnosis, the increased risk for both suicide attempts and suicide death was higher.

“Therefore, clinical and societal awareness is needed to prevent suicidal behavior in this vulnerable population,” the authors write.

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