ARE CHRONIC PSYCHIATRIC-PATIENTS AT INCREASED RISK FOR DEVELOPING BREAST-CANCER

Objective: The authors' goal was to assess the incidence of breast can cer among chronic psychiatric patients. Method: They reviewed mammogra ms and charts of 275 female patients over the age of 40 in a state psy chiatric hospital and 928 women of comparable age at a general hospita l radiology clinic. Results: The incidence of breast cancer documented by pathology reports among the psychiatric patients was more than 3.5 times higher than that of the patients at the general hospital and 9. 5 times higher than the reported incidence in the general population. Conclusions: If confirmed, the suspected higher incidence of breast ca ncer among the psychiatric patients might be due to medications and fu rther underscores the need for screening mammograms for breast cancer in these patients.