Suicide ideation in stomach cancer survivors and possible risk factors.
OBJECTIVE
Although the suicide rate of cancer survivors is higher than that of the general population, few studies have examined the potential risk factors. We assessed suicide ideation (SI) and investigated its correlates among survivors of stomach cancer, which is one of the most prevalent cancers in Korea.


METHODS
We surveyed 378 stage I-III stomach cancer survivors who had been disease free for at least 1 year. The survey contained demographic questions and quality of life assessments from the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 and its stomach cancer-specific module, the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire, the Brief Fatigue Inventory, and one question from the Beck Depression Inventory.


RESULTS
We found that 131/378 stomach cancer survivors (34.7 %) experienced SI. Univariate analyses showed that SI was significantly associated with income, comorbidity, smoking, and the following quality of life factors: general health status, emotional functioning, fatigue, nausea/vomiting, dyspnea, appetite loss, constipation, diarrhea, financial problems, eating restriction, anxiety, dry mouth, trouble belching, hair loss, body image, existential well-being, and social support. Multivariate logistic regression confirmed that SI was independently associated with diarrhea (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2.84; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.44-5.62), hair loss (aOR 2.77; 95 % CI 1.04-7.36), existential well-being (aOR 6.18; 95 % CI 2.91-13.1), and usual fatigue (aOR 2.29; 95 % CI 1.30-4.06).


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings reveal a high prevalence of SI among stomach cancer survivors and identify health-related quality of life issues such as diarrhea, hair loss, existential well-being, and fatigue as important risk factors of SI.
Department of Biomedical Science, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, 103 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 110-799, South Korea.
Ye-Ni
YN
Choi
Young-Ae
YA
Kim
Young Ho
YH
Yun
Sung
S
Kim
Jae-Moon
JM
Bae
Young-Woo
YW
Kim
Keun Won
KW
Ryu
Jun Ho
JH
Lee
Jae-Hyung
JH
Noh
Tae-Sung
TS
Sohn
D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult