Immediate Risk for Cardiovascular Events and Suicide Following a Prostate Cancer Diagnosis: Prospective Cohort Study

This study examined whether the emotional stress evoked by a prostate cancer diagnosis increases the immediate risks of cardiovascular events & suicide. A prospective cohort study was done by following all men in Sweden who were 30 years or older for a diagnosis of prostate cancer. Poisson regression models were used to caculate relative risk of cardiovascular events & suicide among men who had prostate cancer diagnosed within 1 year to men without such a diagnosis. The risks of cardiovascular events & suicide were elevated during the first year, particularly during the first week. While the relative risk of cardiovascular events declined, the relative risk of suicide was stable over the study period. Limitations of the study are discussed. (23 refs.)