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Suicide risk among colorectal cancer patients in Lithuania

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Abstract

Purpose

We aimed to estimate suicide risk among colorectal cancer patients in the country showing the highest suicide rates among developed countries.

Methods

Patients with colorectal cancer diagnosed between 1998 and 2012 were identified from the Lithuanian Cancer Registry. Standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) for suicide were calculated for patients diagnosed with cancer in Lithuania, relative to suicide rates in the general population.

Results

Twenty thousand seven hundred sixty-five primary colorectal cancer cases diagnosed between 1998 and 2012 were extracted from the database. Among 19,409 first primary colorectal cancer patients, we identified 67 suicides and the expected number of suicides calculated from general population was 41.4 in this cohort, resulting in an SMR of 1.62 for both sexes (95% CI, 1.27–2.06). A higher suicide risk was found for women (SMR 2.15; 95% CI 1.35–3.41), than for men (SMR 1.48; 95% CI 1.12–1.96). The suicide risk was almost twice higher in patients 60 and older, with highest increase in the oldest patients (SMR 2.12, 95% CI 1.01–4.46). The risk of suicide was not significantly elevated in colorectal cancer patients with localised tumours, but there was a fourfold increase in risk in patients with stage IV tumours. Compared with the general population, the risk of suicide among colorectal cancer patients was four times higher during the first 3 months after diagnosis and decreased thereafter.

Conclusions

The patients with colorectal cancer have a higher rate of suicide compared with the general Lithuanian population. Sex, age, advanced rectal cancer and distant spread of disease were the main predictors of suicide among colorectal cancer patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Abdominal and General Surgery and Oncology, National Cancer Institute, 1 Santariskiu Str., LT-08406, Vilnius, Lithuania

    Audrius Dulskas

  2. Faculty of Health Care, University of Applied Sciences, 45 Didlaukio Str., LT-08303, Vilnius, Lithuania

    Audrius Dulskas

  3. Department of Surgery, National Cancer Institute, Clinic of Internal, Family Medicine and Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, 1 Santariskiu Str., LT-08406, Vilnius, Lithuania

    Audrius Dulskas

  4. Laboratory of Cancer Epidemiology, National Cancer Institute, LT-08406, Vilnius, Lithuania

    Ausvydas Patasius, Auguste Kaceniene & Giedre Smailyte

  5. Laboratory of Clinical Oncology, Department of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Vilnius, Lithuania

    Ausvydas Patasius & Vincas Urbonas

  6. Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, LT-03101, Vilnius, Lithuania

    Giedre Smailyte

Authors
  1. Audrius Dulskas
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  2. Ausvydas Patasius
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  3. Auguste Kaceniene
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  4. Vincas Urbonas
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  5. Giedre Smailyte
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Audrius Dulskas.

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Dulskas, A., Patasius, A., Kaceniene, A. et al. Suicide risk among colorectal cancer patients in Lithuania. Int J Colorectal Dis 34, 555–558 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00384-018-03228-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00384-018-03228-4

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