Abstract

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• OBJECTIVE:

  Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) remains a widely utilized modality for treatment of localized and advanced prostate cancer. While ADT-induced alterations in testosterone have demonstrated impacts on quality of life, the effects on mental health remain ill-defined. We investigated the prevalence of de novo psychiatric illness and predictive factors following ADT induction for prostate cancer.

  MATERIALS AND METHODS:

  We retrospectively reviewed patients receiving ADT for prostate cancer at our institution between 1/1989-7/2005, excluding men receiving only neoadjuvant ADT. Variables included age, race, body mass index, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), Gleason sum, clinical stage, ADT type (medical/surgical) and schedule (continuous/intermittent), and presence of pre-ADT and newly diagnosed psychiatric illness. The cohort was divided into three groups for analysis: pre-ADT psychiatric illness, de novo psychiatric illness, and no psychiatric illness. Data analysis utilized statistical software with p < 0.05 considered significant.

  RESULTS:

  Three-hundred and ninety-five patients with a mean age of 71.7 years at ADT initiation were analyzed. Thirty-four men (8.6%) were diagnosed with pre-ADT psychiatric illness. At mean follow-up of 87.4 months, 101 (27.9%) men were diagnosed with de novo psychiatric illness, most commonly including: depression (n = 57; 56.4%), dementia (n = 14; 13.9%), and anxiety (n = 9; 8.9%). On multivariate analysis, increasing pre-ADT PSA was predictive of post-ADT anxiety (p = 0.01). Overall and disease-specific survival outcomes were similar between groups.

  CONCLUSIONS:

  De novo psychiatric illness was identified in 27.9% of men. While no predictive factors were identified for de novo psychiatric illness, increasing PSA was associated with de novo anxiety. Prospective investigation using validated instruments is requisite to further delineate the relationship between ADT and psychiatric health.