
Cancer Diagnosis Linked to a Surprising Crime Spike, Danish Study Finds
A Danish study of 368,317 people diagnosed with cancer between 1980 and 2018 finds that crime convictions rise by about 14% within five years of diagnosis (after an initial drop in the first year), with the effect persisting for a decade. The increases are seen in both economic and non-economic crimes and are larger among patients with steeper declines in survival probability and in areas with weaker social support. The researchers suggest policy measures that cushion the economic and social impact of health shocks to reduce this crime spike.



