Cancer patients who undergo surgery and have a behavioral health disorder have higher odds of a complication, prolonged length of stay and 90-day readmission, a recent study found.
The study, published Feb. 29 in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, identified more than 694,000 patients diagnosed with lung, esophageal, gastric, liver, pancreatic and colorectal cancer between 2018 and 2021, using the Medicare Standard Analytic Files.
Of patients, 6.7% had at least one behavioral health disorder. These patients were less likely to undergo resection; had higher odds of a complication, prolonged stays and 90-day readmission; and had higher in-hospital expenditures. They also had worse long-term postoperative survival of 37.1 months compared to 46.6 months for patients without a disorder.
"Initiatives to target behavioral health disorders are needed to improve outcomes of cancer patients undergoing surgery," the authors wrote.