Abstract
Background: Young adults and other working-age adults with cancer are at risk for cancer-related financial toxicity (FT), including material hardships, depletion of coping resources, and psychological burden. This study compares FT domains in young adults (18-39 years old) (YAs), other working-age adults (40-64 years old), and older adults (≥65 years old) receiving cancer care. Methods: A total of 311 adults were surveyed using the multi-domain Economic Strain and Resilience in Cancer instrument measuring FT (0-10 score indicating least to greatest FT; score ≥5 severe FT). Participants were receiving ambulatory care from March-September 2019. Associations of age with overall FT and material hardship, coping resource depletion, and psychological burden FT domains were tested using Kruskal-Wallis and χ2 tests and multivariable generalized linear models with gamma distribution. Results: YAs (median age, 31.5 years) comprised 9.6% of the sample; other working-age adults comprised 56.9%. Overall, material, coping, and psychological FT scores were worse in younger age adults versus older adults (P <.001 in all multivariable models). Compared with older adults, younger age adults demonstrated worse material hardship (median scores, 3.70 vs 4.80 vs 1.30 for YAs, other working-age, and older adults, respectively; P <.001), coping resource depletion (4.50 vs 3.40 vs 0.80; P <.001), and psychological burden (6.50 vs 7.00 vs 1.00; P <.001). Fifty percent of YAs had severe overall FT versus 40.7% of other working-age adults and 9.6% of older adults (P <.001). Conclusions: Younger age adults with cancer bore disproportionate FT. Interventions to address unmet needs are critical components for addressing FT in this population.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 2455-2462 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Cancer |
Volume | 128 |
Issue number | 13 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 1 2022 |
Keywords
- cancer survivors
- financial toxicity
- health care disparities
- neoplasms
- young adult
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Cancer Research
MD Anderson CCSG core facilities
- Shared Decision Making Core