title: The effect of pre-existing mental health comorbidities on the stage at diagnosis and timeliness of care of solid tumor malignances in a Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center.
abstract: There are limited data on the impact of mental health comorbidities (MHC) on stage at diagnosis and timeliness of cancer care. Axis I MHC affect approximately 30% of Veterans receiving care within the Veterans Affairs (VA) system. The purpose of this study was to compare stage at diagnosis and timeliness of care of solid tumor malignancies among Veterans with and without MHC. We performed a retrospective analysis of 408 charts of Veterans with colorectal, urothelial, and head/neck cancer diagnosed and treated at VA Connecticut Health Care System (VACHS) between 2008 and 2011. We collected demographic data, stage at diagnosis, medical and mental health co-morbidities, treatments received, key time intervals, and number of appointments missed. The study was powered to assess for stage migration of 15-20% from Stage I/II to Stage III/IV. There was no significant change in stage distribution for patients with and without MHC in the entire study group (p = 0.9442) and in each individual tumor type. There were no significant differences in the time intervals from onset of symptoms to initiation of treatment between patients with and without MHC (p = 0.1135, 0.2042 and 0.2352, respectively). We conclude that at VACHS, stage at diagnosis for patients with colorectal, urothelial and head and neck cancers did not differ significantly between patients with and without MHC. Patients with MHC did not experience significant delays in care. Our study indicates that in a medical system in which mental health is integrated into routine care, patients with Axis I MHC do not experience delays in cancer care.
authors.affiliation: Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.|Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Roxanne J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Wadia
authors.affiliation: Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Xiaopan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Yanhong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.|Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maron
authors.affiliation: Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Connery
authors.affiliation: Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.|Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Handan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gunduz-Bruce
authors.affiliation: Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.|Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Michal G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Rose
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014728:Veterans
keywords: Colorectal neoplasms; head and neck neoplasms; mental health; neoplasm staging; quality of health care; time factors; urologic neoplasms; veterans health