Impact of psychiatric illness on decreased survival in elderly patients with bladder cancer in the United States

BACKGROUND Treatments for muscle‐invasive bladder cancer are multimodal, complex, and often carry significant risks of physical and psychological morbidity. The objectives of this study were to define the incidence and types of psychiatric illnesses diagnosed after treatment and to determine their impact on survival outcomes. METHODS In total, 3709 patients who were diagnosed with clinical stage T2 through T4a bladder cancer from January 1, 2002, to December 31, 2011, from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results‐Medicare were analyzed. Multivariable analysis and Cox proportional‐hazards models were used to determine the predictors associated with psychiatric diagnosis and impact on survival outcomes. RESULTS Of 3709 patients, 1870 (50.4%) were diagnosed with posttreatment psychiatric disorders. Patients who underwent radical cystectomy were identified as being at significantly greater risk of having a posttreatment psychiatric illness compared with those who received radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy (hazard ratio [HR], 1.19; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07‐1.31; P = .001). In adjusted analyses, diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder resulted in significantly worse overall survival (HR, 2.80; 95% CI, 2.47‐3.17; P