New research revealed that depression can impact surgical outcomes, making it more difficult for patients to recover from surgery, thus leading to higher postoperative costs as well. In patients with gastrointestinal cancers and depression who were undergoing surgery specifically, antidepressants were found to reduce these negative effects, including improving surgical outcomes and reducing costs, according to findings from a study presented at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2025 and published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
“Treating any diagnosis, especially one as substantial and devastating as cancer, requires an understanding of other health and social risk factors,” stated lead study author Erryk S. Katayama, a fourth-year medical student at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. “Understanding how mental health issues impact postoperative outcomes can help create holistic and individualized treatment plans, anticipate and prevent associated complications, and ultimately optimize patient outcomes.”
Study Methods
Researchers conducted a retrospective study aiming to evaluate the role of antidepressants in patients with gastrointestinal cancer and comorbid depression undergoing surgical resection. They identified patients with colorectal, hepatobiliary, and pancreatic cancers through Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare data who were diagnosed with comorbid depression within 12 months before or after the cancer diagnosis. They also assessed surgical complications, hospitalizations, and 90-day postoperative costs.
Key Study Findings
Researchers identified 32,726 eligible patients with gastrointestinal cancers, including 1,721 (5.3%) who had depression, which was untreated in 1,253 and treated in 478.
Depression led to a negative impact on surgical outcomes and postoperative costs whether it was treated or untreated. When patients were treated with antidepressants, it mitigated the negative effects of the depression. Those with untreated depression were more likely to have complications, prolonged hospital stays, re-admission, and mortality (P < .001 for all) than those with treated depression.
Patients with untreated depression also faced higher postsurgical costs—$17,551 in in-hospital and postdischarge costs for patients without depression, $24,897 in patients with untreated depression, and $22,087 in patients with treated depression (P < .001).
The study authors suggested that screening for cancer-associated depression and initiating antidepressants may enhance outcomes.
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit journals.lww.com.
