Risk of psychiatric disorders among spouses of patients with cancer in Denmark and Sweden

There is emerging evidence that spouses of patients with cancer may have a higher prevalence of mental illness, but these studies have been limited by pre-post designs, focus on a single mental illness, and short follow-up periods. In a retrospective cohort study of more than 3 million individuals, 6.9% of spouses of patients with cancer developed a psychiatric disorder during follow-up, compared with 5.6% of spouses of individuals without cancer. The risk was statistically significantly increased among the spouses of cancer patients. The authors conclude that spouses should be included in the surveillance and counseling of cancer patients .