Prospective cohort study of the association of mental health conditions with incident cancer among 402,255 UK Biobank participants

Mental health conditions (MHCs) affect both psychological health and biological systems and have also been linked to cancer risk. A population-based prospective cohort study involving 402,255 UK Biobank participants evaluated the associations of depressive disorders (DD), anxiety disorders (AD), bipolar disorders (BD), schizophrenia (SZ), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with overall and site-specific cancer risk. Over a median follow-up of 13.4 years, 68,065 (17%) incident cancer cases were recorded. DD (HR 1.18; 95% CI 1.13-1.23), AD (1.17; 1.11-1.24), and BD (1.29; 1.11-1.51) were associated with increased overall cancer risk, whereas no significant association was found for SZ and PTSD. The associations of DD and BD were only significant in men. AD and DD were positively associated with lung, blood, and liver cancers, while AD was also associated with prostate cancer. A dose-response relationship was observed between DD symptom severity and cancer risk. The authors conclude that causality cannot be assumed, but that these findings suggest that diagnosis of MHCs could be useful for cancer risk stratification and prevention (graphical abstract).