Longitudinal impact of bladder cancer diagnosis on common psychiatric disorders

BACKGROUND: The presence of psychiatric disorders in patients with cancer is associated with increased morbidity and poorer outcomes. We sought to determine the impact of a new bladder cancer diagnosis on the incidence of depression and anxiety. METHODS: We used a database of billing claims (MarketScan®) to identify patients newly diagnosed with bladder cancer between 2009 and 2018. Patients with preexisting psychiatric disorders or use of anxiolytics/antidepressants were excluded. We matched cases to patients without a bladder cancer or psychiatric diagnosis. Our primary outcome was a new diagnosis of depression, anxiety, or use of anxiolytics/antidepressants. Other exposures of interest included gender and treatment received. We used multivariable regression to estimate odds ratios for these exposures. RESULTS: We identified 65,846 cases with a new diagnosis of bladder cancer (31,367 privately insured; 34,479 Medicare‐eligible). Compared to controls, bladder cancer patients were more likely to develop new‐onset depression/anxiety at 6 months (privately insured: 6.9% vs. 3.4%, p < 0.001; Medicare‐eligible: 5.7% vs. 3.4%, p < 0.001) and 36 months (privately insured: 19.2% vs. 13.5%, p < 0.001; Medicare‐eligible: 19.3% vs. 16.0%, p < 0.001). Women (vs. men, privately insured: OR 1.65, 95%CI 1.53–1.78; Medicare‐eligible: OR 1.63, 95%CI 1.50–1.76) and those receiving cystectomy and chemotherapy (vs. no treatment, privately insured: OR 4.94, 95%CI 4.13–5.90; Medicare‐eligible: OR 2.35, 95%CI 1.88–2.94) were more likely to develop significant depression/anxiety. CONCLUSION: A new diagnosis of bladder cancer was associated with increased burden of significant depression/anxiety compared with matched controls. Women and patients receiving more radical treatments had higher rates of depression and anxiety.