Suicidal ideation in Chinese patients with advanced breast cancer: a multi-center mediation model study

The pathways underpinning suicide ideation (SI) and certain physical and psychological factors in patients with advanced breast cancer remain unclear. This study develops and validates a mediation model that delineates the associations between several multidimensional variables and SI in Chinese patients with advanced breast cancer.

Patients with advanced breast cancer (n = 509) were recruited as study participants from 10 regional cancer centers across China from August 2019 to December 2020. Participants were required to complete five questionnaires using an electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePRO) system: 9 item- Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), 5-level EQ-5D (EQ-5D-5L), and MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI). Risk factors for SI were identified using multivariable logistic regression, and inputted into serial multiple mediation models to elucidate the pathways linking the risk factors to SI.

SI prevalence was 22.8% (116/509). After adjusting for covariates, depression (odds ratio [OR] = 1.384), emotional distress (OR = 1.107), upset (OR = 0.842), and forgetfulness (OR = 1.236) were identified as significant independent risk factors (all p < 0.05). The ORs indicate that depression and distress have the strongest associations with SI. Health status has a significant indirect effect (OR=-0.044, p = 0.005) and a strong total effect (OR=-0.485, p < 0.001) on SI, mediated by insomnia severity and emotional distress.

There is a high SI prevalence among Chinese patients with advanced breast cancer. Our analysis revealed predictive pathways from poor health to heightened SI, mediated by emotional distress and insomnia. Regular management of distress and insomnia can decrease suicide risk in this vulnerable population.