Dataset Information

Mortality from cancer in people with severe mental disorders in Emilia Romagna Region, Italy.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To examine cancer-related mortality in patients with severe mental disorders (SMI) in the Emilia Romagna (ER) Region, Northern Italy, during the period 2008-2017 and compare it with the regional population.

Methods

We used the ER Regional Mental Health Registry identifying all patients aged ≥18 years who had received an ICD-9CM system diagnosis of SMI (i.e., schizophrenia or other functional psychosis, mania, or bipolar affective disorders) during a 10-year period (2008-2017). Information on deaths (date and causes of death) were retrieved through the Regional Cause of Death Registry. Comparisons were made with the deaths and cause of deaths of the regional population over the same period.

Results

Amongst 12,385 patients suffering from SMI (64.1% schizophrenia spectrum and 36.9% bipolar spectrum disorders), 24% (range 21%-29%) died of cancer. In comparison with the general regional population, the mortality for cancer was about 50% higher among patients with SMI, irrespective if affected by schizophrenia or bipolar disorders. As for the site-specific cancers, significant excesses were reported for stomach, central nervous system, respiratory, and pancreas cancer with a variability according to psychiatric diagnosis and gender.

Conclusions

Patients suffering from SMI had higher mortality risk than the regional population with some differences according to cancer type, gender, and psychiatric diagnosis. Proper cancer preventive and treatment interventions, including more effective risk modification strategies (e.g., smoking cessation, dietary habits) and screening for cancer, should be part of the agenda of all mental health departments in conjunction with other health care organizations, including psycho-oncology.

SUBMITTER: Grassi L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9290959 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundThis research was performed in an area belonging to the province of the city of Bologna (Emilia-Romagna region, Northern Italy). The purpose of the present survey was to record the local knowledge concerning traditional uses of wild food plants and related practices, such as gathering, processing, cooking, therapeutic uses, with the aim of preserving an important part of the local cultural heritage.MethodsThirty-nine people still retaining Traditional Local Knowledge (TLK) were interviewed between March-April 2012 and September-October 2013 by means of open and semi-structured ethnobotanical interviews. For each plant species mentioned, we recorded the botanical family, the English common name, the Italian common and/or folk names, the parts of the plant used, the culinary preparation, and the medicinal usage. The relative frequency of citation index (RFC), a tool that measures the local cultural importance of a plant species, was also included.ResultsThe folk plants mentioned by the respondents belonged to 33 botanical families, of which the Rosaceae (14 plants) and the Asteraceae (9 plants) were the most representative. The species with the highest RFC index (0.77) were Crepis vesicaria subsp. taraxacifolia (Thuill) Thell and Taraxacum officinale Weber. Eleven folk plants were indicated as having therapeutic effects. T. officinale Weber, C. vesicaria subsp. taraxacifolia (Thuill) Thell and Sonchus spp., which are used as food, were reported to be depurative, blood cleaning, refreshing, diuretic and laxative. The most commonly used species was Urtica spp, which was also the most frequently cited for medicinal uses.ConclusionsThe present survey documented the wild food plant traditional knowledge of an area belonging to the province of the city of Bologna (Emilia-Romagna region, Northern Italy). The general perception obtained is that on one side the TLK related to wild food plants has strongly been eroded, mainly due to immigration and urbanization phenomena, whereas on the other side these plants are revaluated today because they are perceived as healthy and also because they represent the preservation of biodiversity and a way of getting back to nature.