Depression and Prostate Cancer: Examining Comorbidity and Male-Specific Symptoms

Abstract

Depression in men with prostate cancer is a significant and complex issue that can challenge clinicians’ diagnostic efforts. The objective of the current study was to evaluate prototypic and male-specific depression symptoms and suicidal ideation in men with a diagnosis of prostate cancer relative to those with and without comorbidity. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Male Depression Risk Scale-22 (MDRS-22) were completed online along with demographic and background variables by 100 men with a diagnosis of prostate cancer (n = 54 prostatectomy, n = 33 receiving active treatment). Hierarchical logistic regression was used to examine recent (past 2 weeks) suicide ideation. Over one-third of the sample (38%) reported a comorbidity, and this group had significantly higher total depression scores on the PHQ-9 (Cohen’s d = 0.65), MDRS-22 emotion suppression (d = 0.35), and drug use subscales (d = 0.38) compared to respondents without comorbidity. A total of 14% reported recent suicidal ideation, of which 71.4% of cases were identified by the PHQ-9 “moderate” cut-off, and 85.7% of cases were identified by the MDRS-22 “elevated” cut-off. After control variables, MDRS-22 subscales accounted for 45.1% of variance in recent suicidal ideation. While limited by the exclusive use of self-report data, findings point to the potential benefits of evaluating male-specific symptoms as part of depression and suicide risk screening in men with prostate cancer and the need to be mindful of the heightened risk for depression among men with prostate cancer who have comorbidity.

Suicidal Ideation in Newly-Diagnosed Chinese Cancer Patients

“…Our study showed a significant association between physical comorbidities and suicidal ideation. A previous research in prostate cancer patients reported that men with comorbidities tend to report more depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation compared to those without comorbidities (30). Similar studies also indicate that patients with more physical comorbidities reported elevated psychological disturbances as well (31,32).…”

Promoting integrated care in prostate cancer through online prostate cancer-specific holistic needs assessment: a feasibility study in primary care

“…Emotional concern was the most common domain accessed in the sHNA, suggesting that men seek greater support with emotional concerns. It is well evidenced that depression in men with prostate cancer is a significant and complex issue [26]; however, whilst this study was not powered to detect changes in outcomes, pre-and-post WEMWBS scores did not denote a change of improvement for the intervention. This suggests that sHNA and joint care-planning may not be enough to support the emotional needs of men with prostate cancer, but may help to identify men requiring emotional support.…”

Association of Monoamine Oxidase A with Tumor Burden and Castration Resistance in Prostate Cancer

“…We suggest that MAOA inhibitors could be potent drugs for delaying disease progression and castration resistance along with their antidepressant effect in PCa patients prone to this comorbidity. 35 …”