Summary Background Cancer survivors represent a population with high health care needs. It is largely unknown whether and how cancer survivors were affected by the first year of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods Using data from the nationwide population-based Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (2017-2020), the authors investigated changes in health-related measures during the COVID-19 pandemic among cancer survivors and compared them to changes among adults without a history of cancer in the United States. Sociodemographic and health-related measures, such as insurance coverage, employment status, health behaviors, and health status, were self-reported. Adjusted prevalence ratios of health-related measures in 2020 versus 2017–2019 were estimated with multivariable logistic regressions and stratified by age group (18–64 versus ≥65 years). Results Among adults ages 18 to 64, the uninsured rate did not change significantly in 2020 despite increases in unemployment. The prevalence of unhealthy behaviors, such as poor sleep and smoking, decreased in 2020 and self-rated health improved , regardless of cancer history. Notably, declines in smoking were greater among cancer survivors than among nonelderly adults without a history of cancer. Few changes were observed in adults aged ≥65 years. Conclusions More research is needed to confirm the observed positive health behavior and changes in health and to investigate the role of possible mechanisms, such as national and regional policy responses to the pandemic with respect to insurance coverage, health benefits, unemployment and financial assistance. As policies related to the public health emergency expire, continued monitoring of the long-term effects of the pandemic on cancer survival is warranted. |
Comments
Recent research indicates that during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the proportion of working-age American adults without health insurance did not change despite increases in unemployment, and the prevalence of unhealthy behaviors decreased. The findings, which were published in CANCER , a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, concerned people with and without a history of cancer.
Cancer survivors often have high health care needs and may be vulnerable to the effects of health care and economic disruptions, such as those that occurred during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. To investigate, Xuesong Han, PhD, of the American Cancer Society, and colleagues used data from the nationwide population-based Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, an annual family telephone survey, to examine changes in multiple health-related measures in 2020 among cancer survivors, comparing them to adults without a history of cancer. Specifically, they assessed health insurance coverage, access to care, employment, health behaviors, and self-reported health.
Among adults ages 18 to 64, the uninsured rate did not change significantly in 2020 despite increases in unemployment. The prevalence of unhealthy behaviors, such as poor sleep and smoking, decreased in 2020 and self-rated health improved, regardless of cancer history. Declines in smoking were greater among cancer survivors than among adults without a history of cancer.
“Our findings suggest that the pandemic may have motivated people to adopt certain healthier behaviors , and national and regional policy responses to the pandemic regarding insurance coverage, unemployment benefits, and financial assistance may have contributed to the positive changes observed,” said Dr. Han. “As policies related to the public health emergency expire, continued monitoring of the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer survival is warranted.”
