Increased incidence of affective disorders, anxiety disorders, and non‐natural mortality in women after breast cancer diagnosis: a nation‐wide cohort study in Denmark

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Abstract
Objective: To investigate whether breast cancer patients have increased incidence of psychiatric admission with affective disorders, anxiety disorders, or non‐natural mortality compared with the general female population. Method: Register‐linkage between nation‐wide registries: The Danish Psychiatric Central Register, The Danish Cancer Registry, and The Danish National Register of Causes of Death. A total of 61 709 women registered with primary invasive breast cancer between 1970 and 1993 were included and 356 023 person‐years were accrued. Results: The standardized incidence ratio of first‐ever psychiatric admission with affective disorder was 1.49 (95% CI: 1.35–1.63) and with anxiety disorder 1.25 (95% CI: 1.06–1.46). The standardized non‐natural mortality ratio during the first year after breast cancer diagnosis was 1.54 (95% CI: 1.27–1.87). All analyses were adjusted for age, calendar period, and place of residence. Conclusion: Breast cancer patients have significantly increased incidence of psychiatric admission with affective disorders, anxiety disorders, and non‐natural mortality.