TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2017//
TI  - Impact of universal health coverage on suicide risk in newly diagnosed cancer patients: population-based cohort study from 1985 to 2007 in Taiwan
JO  - Psycho-oncology
A1  - Lin, Po-Hsien
A1  - Liao, Shih-Cheng
A1  - Chen, I-Ming
A1  - Kuo, Po-Hsiu
A1  - Shan, Jia-Chi
A1  - Lee, Ming-Been
A1  - Chen, Wei J.
SP  - 1852
EP  - 1859
VL  - 26
IS  - 11
N2  - BACKGROUND: National Health Insurance (NHI), launched in 1995 in Taiwan, lightens patient's financial burdens but its effect on the suicide risk in cancer patients is unclear. We aimed to investigate the impacts of the NHI on the suicide in newly diagnosed cancer patients. <br><br>METHODS: We identified patients with newly diagnosed cancer from the nationwide Taiwan Cancer Registration from 1985 to 2007, and ascertained suicide deaths from the national database of registered deaths between 1985 and 2009. Standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of suicide risk among patients with cancer was calculated, and the suicide risk ratios were examined by gender, age group, and prognosis. <br><br>RESULTS: For the 916,337 registered cancer patients with 4,300,953 person-years, 2,543 died by suicide, with a suicide rate of 59.1 per 100,000 person-years. Compared to the general population, cancer patients had a SMR of 2.47 for suicide, with a higher figure for males (2.73), age 45 to 64 (2.89), and cancer of poor prognosis (3.19). The suicide risk was highest in the first two years after the initial diagnosis. Comparing the cohorts of the period before (1985 to 1992) and after (1996 to 2007) the launch of NHI, we saw a reduction in the SMR within the first two years after cancer diagnosis (20%), with more prominent reduction for females (29%), age under 45 (69%), and cancer of good prognosis (33%). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: A universal health coverage relieving both physical and psychological distress may account for the post-NHI reduction of immediate suicide risk in patients of newly diagnosed cancer.<br><br>This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1057-9249
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pon.4396
ID  - ref1
ER  -