Cumulative burden of psychiatric disorders and self-harm across 26 adult cancers

Cancer is a life-altering event causing considerable psychological distress. Analysis of population-based data from two large electronic health record databases covering a period of almost 23 years investigated the incidence of psychiatric disorders and self-harm among 459,542 adult patients with cancer (26 types). The authors found that depression is the most common psychiatric disorder in patients with cancer, and that the highest cumulative burden of psychiatric disorders is associated with receiving chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, and alkylating agents, and with testicular cancer. Psychiatric disorders (such as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and personality disorders) were associated with an increased risk of mortality of any kind and increased risk of self-harm within 12 months of a mental illness diagnosis.