Hospital Contacts for Psychiatric Disorders in Parents of Children With Cancer in Denmark

Abstract Background Having a child diagnosed with cancer is a devastating experience that may affect parents’ mental health. We aimed to assess the risk of hospital contacts for psychiatric disorders in parents of children with cancer. Methods We conducted a nationwide population-based cohort study using Danish registry data. Parents of children diagnosed with cancer between 1982 and 2014 (n = 6689 mothers, n = 5509 fathers) were matched with comparison parents of cancer-free children (n = 67 544 mothers, n = 55 756 fathers). We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the risk of hospital contacts for any psychiatric disorder and specific disorders. Cox models were also used to inv…