Oral Presentation 2025 Joint Meeting of the COSA ASM and IPOS Congress

Mental health service encounters after prostate cancer diagnosis (126080)

Tenaw Tiruye 1 , David Roder 1 , Suzane K Chambers 2 , Kerry Ettridge 3 , Kerri Beckmann 1
  1. University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
  2. Australian Catholic University , Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  3. South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, SA, Australia

Objectives: To estimate hospital admissions and mental health service claims after prostate cancer diagnosis.

Methods: We analysed linked data from a cohort of South Australians (n=29,831) diagnosed with prostate cancer between 2002 and 2020. Hospitalisation for mental health issues were extracted from public hospital discharge data using ICD-10 diagnosis codes. Mental health service claims were extracted using MBS item codes. Rates per 1000 person-time were estimated at 90-days, 6-months, 1-year and 2-years post-diagnosis.

Results: Within 1-year post-diagnosis, 1123 patients (4%) had at least one mental health service encounter. Over a 2-year period, the rates of hospital admission and mental health service use were 16.1 and 55.7 per 1000 person-time, respectively. Common reasons for hospital admission within 2-years included depression (N=248, 0.8%), anxiety (N=177, 0.6%), and stress and adjustment issues (N=79, 0.3%). Within the 2-year timeframe, 1194 people (4.0%) sought GP mental health visits and 442 (1.5%) consulted psychiatrists. Hospitalisation rates were higher among individuals with low socioeconomic advantage (highest vs. least disadvantaged: 14.5 and 5.1 per 1000 person-year) and from rural areas (Adelaide metropolitan vs. rest of South Australia: 7.6 and 13.8 per 1000 person-year). Conversely, MBS claims were more frequent among those with high socioeconomic advantage (highest vs. least disadvantaged: 36.1 and 40.9 per 1000 person-year) and from urban areas (Adelaide metropolitan vs. rest of South Australia: 40.4 and 26.4 per 1000 person-year).

Conclusions: One in every twenty-five people had at least one mental health service encounter within 1-year after prostate cancer diagnosis. This varied significantly by socioeconomic status and where people live. Hospital admissions, likely for severe mental illness, were higher among disadvantaged and rural populations. MBS claims—which may reflect better service access and utilisation—were higher among those with higher socioeconomic status and in metropolitan Adelaide.