Risk of depressive disorder among patients with head and neck cancer: A nationwide population-based study

The purpose of this study was to assess the incidence and risk of depressive disorder among patients with head and neck cancer.

We identified 48 548 patients from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) in Taiwan who were newly diagnosed with head and neck cancer between 2000 and 2010. Each patient was randomly frequency-matched with an individual without head and neck cancer, based on index year, sex, age, occupation category, urbanization level, monthly income, and comorbidities. The Cox proportional Registry of Catastrophic Illnesses Patient Database regression analysis was performed to estimate the effect of head and neck cancer on the risk of depressive disorder.

Patients with head and neck cancer had a significantly higher risk of depressive disorder than the matched cohort (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 3.32; 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.05-3.61), with the highest risk seen in the hypopharynx and oropharynx.

Patients with head and neck cancer had >3 times the incidence of depressive disorder, relative to the comparison group. Psychological evaluation and support are essential in head and neck cancer survivors.