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. 2024 May 27;14(1):213.
doi: 10.1038/s41398-024-02917-9.

Trends in cancer-related suicide in the United States: a population-based epidemiology study spanning 40 years of data

Qiang Liu #  1 , Zheng Qu #  1 , Hao Dong #  1 , Yihang Qi #  1   2 , Juan Wu  1 , Wenxiang Zhang  1 , Xiangyu Wang  1 , Zhongzhao Wang  3 , Yi Fang  4 , Jing Wang  5
Affiliations

Trends in cancer-related suicide in the United States: a population-based epidemiology study spanning 40 years of data

Qiang Liu et al. Transl Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Large cohort studies examining trends in cancer-related suicide are lacking. We analyzed data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, encompassing a total of 4,870,410 patients diagnosed with cancer from 1975 to 2017 in the United States. Joinpoint regression was used to estimate the annual percent change (APC) and average annual percentage change (AAPC) of age-adjusted rates of suicide. In the past 40 years, we revealed a gradual increase in cancer-related suicide rates from 1975 to 1989, followed by a gradual decrease from 1989 to 2013, and a marked decrease from 2013 to 2017. These trends suggested the potential impact of advancements in psychosocial care for patients with cancer in contributing to the observed decrease in suicide rates.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Age-adjusted suicide rate per 100,000 person-years and suicide trend in the past 40 years.
A Suicide rates and trends among the total US population (B) Cancer-related suicide rates and trends in the US. APC Annual percentage change. *Indicates that the APC is significantly different from zero at the alpha = 0.05 level.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Age-adjusted suicide rate per 100,000 person-years and suicide trend varied by sex in the past 40 years.
Trends of suicide among the total US population by male (A) and female (B). Trends of cancer-related suicide by male (C) and female (D). APC annual percentage change. *Indicates that the APC is significantly different from zero at the alpha = 0.05 level.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Age-adjusted suicide rate per 100,000 person-years and suicide trend varied by race in the past 40 years.
Trends of suicide among the total US population by Caucasian (A), African American (B), and Other (American Indian/AK Native, Asian/Pacific Islander) (C). Trends of cancer-related suicide in the US by Caucasian (D), African American (E), and Other (American Indian/AK Native, Asian/Pacific Islander) (F). APC: annual percentage change. *Indicates that the APC is significantly different from zero at the alpha = 0.05 level.
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