ArticleThe Medical journal of Australia2024
Participation in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program by people with severe mental illness, Australia, 2006-2019: a national data linkage study.
Article in The Medical journal of Australia, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Global, regional, national burden of colorectal cancer from 1990 to 2021, with projections of incidence to 2050: a systematic analysis of the global burden of disease study 2021.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Pooled it
- Hospitalisation and mortality outcomes after second COVID-19 vaccination among Australians living with severe mental illness: Findings from a matched case-control study using national data linkage.The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry · 2026Observational
- The experiences of people diagnosed with severe mental illness and colorectal cancer: A qualitative study.Australasian psychiatry : bulletin of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists · 2026Article
- Comparative incidence rates of physical multimorbidity in a psychiatric inpatient population among people with and without severe mental illness: A retrospective cohort study.The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry · 2026Observational
- Risk of colorectal cancer by socioeconomic position and history of mental illness - a national nested case-control study.BMC cancer · 2026Article
- Rates of colorectal cancer diagnosis and mortality in people with severe mental illness: results from Australia's National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo compare rates of participation in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) and follow-up for people with severe mental illness with those for people without severe mental illness or not prescribed antidepressants. STUDY
designRetrospective cohort study; analysis of de-identified linked NBCSP, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), and Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) data.
settingAustralia, 2006-2019.
participantsPeople aged 50-74 years (NBCSP-eligible) with severe mental illness, defined as those dispensed two or more prescriptions for second generation antipsychotics or for lithium (PBS data), and a random sample of people aged 50-74 years eligible for Medicare-subsidised services but never prescribed psychotropic medications (antipsychotics, lithium, antidepressants).
main outcome measuresNBCSP participation (returned faecal occult blood test sample), valid test result, positive test result, and follow-up colonoscopy rates.
resultsA total of 119 475 people with severe mental illness and 1 090 574 control group people were included in our analyses. The proportion of women was larger in the severe mental illness group (51.3%) than the control group (48.7%), as were the proportions who lived in inner regional areas (23.5% v 19.1%) or in areas in the lowest socio-economic quintile (21.8% v 14.7%). The NBCSP participation rate was lower among people with severe mental illness (adjusted incidence rate ratio [IRR], 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.69-0.84). The proportion of valid test results was smaller for people with severe mental illness (95.9% v 98.7%; adjusted IRR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.96-0.99), and the positive test result proportion larger (12.3% v 6.6%; adjusted IRR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.94-2.09). The proportion of positive test results followed by colonoscopy was smaller for people with severe mental illness (71.7% v 82.6%; adjusted IRR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.85-0.92).
conclusionsPeople with severe mental illness were less likely to participate in the NBCSP or to undergo colonoscopy after a positive test result than other Australians. These differences may contribute to higher colorectal cancer mortality among people with severe mental illness. The contributions of differences in cancer stage at diagnosis and subsequent treatment to higher colorectal cancer mortality require further study.
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