RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the following study was to determine whether health insurance impacts the risk of suicidal ideation among patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study was completed using the 2016 to 2018 National Inpatient Sample on adult patients (≥18 years) with HNC. The primary predictor was health insurance. The primary outcome was suicidal ideation. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to identify risk factors for the primary outcome variable. RESULTS: The final study sample consisted of 29 231 patients with HNC. Not controlling for confounders, being a Medicaid patient was a risk factor for suicidal ideation (odds ratio [OR] 2.44; P < .01). However, after controlling for confounders, Medicaid was no longer a risk factor or suicidal ideation (OR 1.52; P = .190). Patients with alcohol dependence/abuse (OR 2.94; P < .01) and depression (OR 8.30; P < .01) were each more likely to experience suicidal ideation. CONCLUSIONS: Medicaid insurance was not a risk factor for suicidal ideation in our study. Depression and alcohol dependence/abuse were each risk factors for suicidal ideation. Oral cancer and oropharyngeal cancer each decreased the risk for suicidal ideations.
