The complex health profile of long-term cancer survivors: prevalence and predictors of comorbid conditions

Purpose Adult cancer survivors have complex medical profiles that may include chronic conditions beyond cancer. Few studies have examined the prevalence of comorbidities before and after a cancer diagnosis. Methods Cancer cases were sampled from two California cancer registries to examine medical co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of cancer survivorship 2015-06, Vol.9 (2), p.239-251
Main Authors: Leach, Corinne R., Weaver, Kathryn E., Aziz, Noreen M., Alfano, Catherine M., Bellizzi, Keith M., Kent, Erin E., Forsythe, Laura P., Rowland, Julia H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Body Mass Index
California - epidemiology
Cancer
Chronic illnesses
Comorbidity
Female
Health Informatics
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Humans
Long term
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Middle Aged
Neoplasms - epidemiology
Neoplasms - mortality
Neoplasms - therapy
Obesity - epidemiology
Oncology
Overweight - epidemiology
Prevalence
Primary Care Medicine
Public Health
Quality of Life Research
Risk Factors
Smoking - epidemiology
Survivor
Survivors - statistics & numerical data
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Summary:Purpose Adult cancer survivors have complex medical profiles that may include chronic conditions beyond cancer. Few studies have examined the prevalence of comorbidities before and after a cancer diagnosis. Methods Cancer cases were sampled from two California cancer registries to examine medical conditions (ever experienced and developed after cancer) among 1,527 long-term breast, prostate, colorectal, and gynecological cancer survivors by socio-demographic, cancer-related, and health behavior variables. Results On average, survivors reported five medical conditions ever diagnosed (95 % CI, 4.8, 5.1) and 1.9 conditions (95 % CI, 1.8, 2.0) diagnosed after cancer. Breast cancer survivors reported the highest (5.8 ever, 2.9 post-cancer) and prostate survivors the lowest (4.0 ever, 1.0 post-cancer) comorbidity burden. Higher comorbidity burden was associated with older age, being a breast cancer survivor, divorced, widowed or separated, non-Hispanic White, overweight or obese, and not receiving chemotherapy. Breast and endometrial cancer survivors, as well as those more than 10 years post-diagnosis, obese, or physically inactive were more likely to report that these comorbidities occurred after cancer. Cancer treatment type, smoking, age, race/ethnicity, marital status, and education were not significant predictors of comorbidities acquired post-cancer. Conclusions Cancer survivors report a large number of medical conditions, many identified after a cancer diagnosis. Findings suggest that time since cancer diagnosis, body mass index, and activity level are important contextual variables when managing survivor’s post-treatment follow-up care. Implications for Cancer Survivors Survivors may benefit when health professionals recommend specific strategies to achieve a healthy weight and regular physical activity for better long-term health outcomes after cancer.
ISSN:1932-2259
1932-2267
DOI:10.1007/s11764-014-0403-1