28 Apr Mental Health Disorders Commonly Identified During Cancer Care
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Donghao Lu
Donghao Lu MD, PhD candidate
Department of Medical Epidemiology & Biostatistics,
Karolinska Institutet
Stockholm
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Lu: Psychiatric comorbidities are common among cancer patients. However, whether or not there is already increased risk of psychiatric disorders during the diagnostic workup leading to a cancer diagnosis was largely unknown.
We found that, among cancer patients, the risks for several common and potentially stress-related mental disorders, including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, somatoform/conversion disorder and stress reaction/adjustment disorder started to increase from ten months before cancer diagnosis, peaked during the first week after diagnosis, compared to cancer-free individuals in Sweden.
MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Dr. Lu: Our findings support the existing guidelines of integrating psychological management into cancer care and call for the extended vigilance for multiple mental disorders in cancer care, already from the diagnostic workup.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Dr. Lu: Our study focused on mental disorders attended by the healthcare system and might have failed to capture the entire burden of psychological stress during cancer diagnostic workup. Future studies with broader quantification of mental health problems are warranted.
MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.
Citation:
Lu D, Andersson TL, Fall K, et al. Clinical Diagnosis of Mental Disorders Immediately Before and After Cancer Diagnosis: A Nationwide Matched Cohort Study in Sweden. JAMA Oncol. Published online April 28, 2016. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2016.0483.
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Last Updated on April 29, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD