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Depression and cancer: a follow-up study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

F. A. Whitlock  and
M. Siskind
F. A. Whitlock*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Queensland, Royal Brisbane Hospital, Brisbane, Australia
M. Siskind
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Queensland, Royal Brisbane Hospital, Brisbane, Australia
*
1Address for correspondence: Professor F. A. Whitlock, Department of Psychiatry, University of Queensland, Clinical Sciences Building, Royal Brisbane Hospital, Herston, 4029, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
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Synopsis

Thirty-nine male and 90 female patients aged 40 and over, who had been given a primary diagnosis of depression, were followed up for 2⅓;13–4 years. During this period 9 male and 9 female patients died. Five male patients and 1 female died from cancer that had not been diagnosed at the time of their psychiatric admissions. The male cancer deaths are significantly higher than expected. The possible relationships of malignant neoplasm to affective disorder are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 9 , Issue 4 , November 1979 , pp. 747 - 752
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1979

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