Suicide in patients with pancreatic cancer

Abstract

Background: Depression is highly prevalent in patients with pancreatic cancer and can result in fatal outcomes from suicides. The authors report suicide rates among patients with pancreatic cancer in the United States and identify factors associated with greater suicide rates. Methods: The current study reviewed data in the SEER database for patients diagnosed with pancreatic adenocarcinoma from 1995-2005. Logistic regression models were used to perform multivariate modeling for factors associated with suicide, while Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to assess factors affecting survival. Results: Among 36,221 patients followed for 22,145 person-years, the suicide rate was 135.4 per 100,000 person-years. The corresponding rate in the US population aged 65-74 years was 12.5 per 100,000 person-years, with a Standardized Mortality Ratio (SMR) of 10.8 (95% CI, 9.2-12.7). Greater suicide rates were noted in males (Odds Ratio (OR) 13.5 [95% CI, 3.2-56.9, P