Patients with mental disorders may have increased cancer risk

Patients with mental disorders may develop cancer at a younger age and may be at increased risk of certain malignancies, according to a report in the September/October issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.

In a retrospective cohort study using administrative claims data, Dr. Caroline P. Carney, of Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, and colleagues examined the relationship between insurance claims for mental disorders and risk of cancer. The study included 722,139 adults who had filed at least one claim from 1989 to 1993.Patients in the mental disorder group included those with one psychiatric hospitalization, one outpatient psychiatrist visit, or two outpatient mental health claims occurring at least 6 months before a cancer claim (n = 72,140). The control group included those without mental health visits who had filed claims for medical services (n = 649,999).The number of subjects who developed cancer was comparable between the mental health and control cohorts (1.3% and 1.2%, respectively). However, patients with mental disorders developed cancer at a significantly younger age than controls (women: 47.0 versus 49.9 years; men: 51.5 years versus 53.2 years.)Men in the mental disorder cohort had more than twice the risk of brain and central nervous system tumors and more the 50% the risk of respiratory system tumors. Similar increased risks were seen among women with existing mental disorders, the researchers report.’The increased odds of respiratory tumors are likely secondary to increased rates of smoking among people with mental disorders and support use of smoking cessation interventions in this population,’ Dr. Carney’s group concludes.The increase in brain malignancies could reflect the presence of mental symptoms or a ‘true association between the two conditions,’ they add. Additional research is warranted.(Source: Psychosom Med 2004;66:735-743: Reuters Health: Oncolink: October 2004.)