Psychiatric News (4/7) reports, “Screening cancer patients for anxiety, depression, and other symptoms of distress may help identify those at heightened risk of nonfatal self-injury,” investigators concluded in a study involving “a total of 806,910 patients.” The study revealed that patients with cancer “who scored higher on the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) – a tool that asks patients to score the severity of their symptoms of nausea, pain, depression, well-being, and more – were more likely to experience nonfatal self-injury within six months than those who scored lower on the ESAS.” The findings were published online March 31 in JAMA Oncology.
Related Links:
— “Screening Cancer Patients for Distress May Identify Patients at Higher Risk of Self-Injury, Psychiatric News, April 7, 2022