Evidence map›Paper›PMID 19885645›Full record

ArticleCancer causes & control : CCC2010

Depression and cancer risk: 24 years of follow-up of the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area sample.

Alden L Gross, Joseph J Gallo, William W Eaton

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cancer causes & control : CCC, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 69 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
69citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

69 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Article
  5. Association between Depression and Risk of Colorectal Cancer and Polyps: A Prospective Cohort Study from the Nurses' Health Study II.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2026
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  17. Mortality in patients with major depressive disorder: A nationwide population-based cohort study with 11-year follow-up.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2024
    Article
  18. Navigating the Intersection of Technology and Depression Precision Medicine.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2024
    Review
  19. Article
  20. The Risk and The Course of Cancer Among People with Severe Mental Illness.Clinical practice and epidemiology in mental health : CP & EMH · 2023
    Review

9 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Alden L GrossDepartment of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. aldgross@jhsph.edu
Joseph J Gallo
William W Eaton

Funding

PSYCHIATRIC EPIDEMIOLOGY TRAINING PROGRAMT32MH014592 · NIMH · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI HEATHER E VOLK, Peter P. Zandi · 1985 to 2026
$8.5M
EVOLUTION OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN THE POPULATIONR01MH047447 · NIMH · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI EATON, WILLIAM W · 1992 to 2006
$5.3M
Evolution of Psychopathology in the PopulationR01DA026652 · NIDA · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI EATON, WILLIAM W · 2009 to 2013
$2.4M
Depression, Diabetes and Osteoporosis: A Cohort AnalysisF31MH078443 · NIMH · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI MEZUK, BRIANA · 2006 to 2006
$47k
NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA026652NIMH NIH HHS F31 MH078443NIMH NIH HHS F31-MH78443NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH047447NIMH NIH HHS R01-MH47447NIMH NIH HHS T32 MH014592NIMH NIH HHS T32-MH14592
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThe objective was to characterize the relationship between depression and incident cancer. Few studies have employed population-based prospective data on subtypes of cancer to address the question.

methodA population-based sample of 3,177 cancer-free adults from the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study who have been followed for 24 years. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate relative hazards for both overall and subtype-specific cancers among those with a history of depression.

resultsThe risk set contained 334 incident cancer cases and 40,530 person-years of observation. DIS/DSM-III major depression was associated with a higher hazard for overall cancer (HR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.2, 3.0) and a statistically significant increased hazard for breast cancer (HR: 4.4, 95% CI: 1.08, 17.6) among women. There was a positive association between history of depression and prostate cancer, but confidence bounds included the null. No reliable associations were found between colon, lung, or skin cancers and depression. The pattern of results was similar for dysphoria, but not for phobia or any other mental disorder studied.

conclusionsResults reveal a specificity to the association between depression and hormonally mediated cancers, which provides support to hypotheses about a common biological pathway between depression and cancer. Further research can build on observational studies to examine the mechanisms through which our emotions affect our health.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAgedBaltimoreDepressive DisorderDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental DisordersFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasmsProportional Hazards ModelsRisk AssessmentRisk FactorsYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID19885645
PMCPMC2872112

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.