Psychiatric comorbidities among ovarian cancer survivors in South Korea: A nationwide population-based, longitudinal study

Abstract

PURPOSE: The aim of this time-dependent study was to analyze the prevalence of mental disorders in ovarian cancer survivors using claims data in South Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We confirmed mental disorders in a nationwide cohort of 9763 patients who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2014. We categorized the prevalence of mental disorders based on the age and the time of diagnosis. RESULTS: A total of 821 ovarian cancer patients were diagnosed with a mental disorder, 1 year prior to the cancer diagnosis. Of those patients, 311 were diagnosed with depression (37.9%) and 245 with anxiety (29.8%) during their first visit. The overall frequency of mental disorders peaked within 2 months after the cancer diagnosis. The highest rate of increase after diagnosis was noted in stress reaction/adjustment disorders. While depression was relatively high (40.4%) in the younger age group under 60 years, anxiety was higher (39.4%) in the elderly group over 60 years old. Age was a significant predictive factor for mental disorders (P = 0.002), and patients over 50 years were at a higher risk for mental disorders (hazard ratio: 1.29, P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Mental disorders in ovarian cancer survivors showed different patterns of prevalence depending on age at the time of diagnosis and the nature of disease. Timely diagnosis and intervention for psychological distress could increase the quality of life for ovarian cancer survivors.