Association between suicidal ideation and behavior, and depression, anxiety, and perceived social support in cancer patients

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to determine the relationship between suicidal behavior and associated factors such as depression, anxiety, and perceived social support level in cancer patients.Material/MethodsThe study group included 102 patients who were under treatment in the oncology department and the control group included 100 individuals with similar sociodemographic features. A sociodemographic information form, Beck depression inventory, Beck anxiety inventory, suicidal behavior inventory, suicidal ideation inventory, and multidimensional inventory of perceived social support were used.ResultsThe mean Beck depression inventory and Beck anxiety inventory scores in the study group were significantly higher compared to the control group. Thirteen patients in the study group attempted suicide, whereas 3 individuals attempted suicide in the control group. Similarly, the mean suicide behavior and ideation scores in the study group were significantly higher compared to the control group. The mean total multidimensional inventories of perceived social support score, as well as the mean family and friend sub-inventory scores in the control group were significantly higher compared to the study group.ConclusionsThis study revealed that depression and anxiety occur frequently in cancer patients. Suicide attempts and ideation are higher in cancer patients compared to the control group. Social support perceived from family and friends is lower in cancer patients. Suicide attempts are correlated with depression, anxiety, low level of perceived social support, and advanced disease stage.

Anxiety, depression, perceived social support and quality of life in Malaysian breast cancer patients: a 1-year prospective study

“…The higher level of perceived social support among the breast cancer subjects was associated with better QoL. This finding is similar to several previous studies [ 17 – 19 ]. In general, the level of perceived social support measured using MSPSS was relatively good among the subjects in the current study in comparison with the other studies [ 17 , 29 ].…”

“…Instead, research has shown that it is the social support felt or perceived by the individual that produces the positive impact [ 14 – 16 ]. Perceived social support is negatively correlated with psychological distress and suicidal thought in cancer patients [ 17 ]. It is also associated with better orientation to health care services and adjustment to family relationship.…”

A longitudinal study on anxiety, depressive and adjustment disorder, suicide ideation and symptoms of emotional distress in patients with cancer undergoing radiotherapy

“…The fact that our sample did not include patients with advanced stages of cancer, coupled with the lack of previous psychiatric disorders in our patients and their good functional ability may explain the lower prevalence in our study. The present study found a prevalence of suicide ideation or risk of 11.7%, − overlapping with other diagnosis-, in line with Balcı Şengül et al's results [4]. Likewise, at the end of radiotherapy, there was a decrease in the prevalence of suicide ideation or risk, with the same trend as in the mood disorders, going from the initial 11.7% to 7.8% at the end of radiotherapy, a percentage which is higher than that of the general population in Spain (3.4%) [31].…”

“…Mehnert et al reported a prevalence of 31.8% of psychopathological disorders in cancer patients; this included depressive disorders (6.5%), anxiety disorders (11.5%) and adjustment disorders (11.1%) [3]. Suicide ideation in cancer patients is greater than in the general population, and is thought to be around 12.3% [4]. Despite the numerous studies on psychopathology and emotional distress in cancer patients, only a small number of studies focused on the patients during treatment with radiotherapy [5][6][7].…”

Trends in incidence and associated risk factors of suicide mortality in patients with non‐small cell lung cancer

“…Several studies have also demonstrated that the suicide rate of cancer patients is twice that of general population 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Notably, when considering different anatomic cancer sites, patients diagnosed with lung cancer had a higher suicide rate than those with other cancer, with a standardized mortality ratio of 5.74 2.…”