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. 2016 Jun;25(6):626-32.
doi: 10.1002/pon.3998. Epub 2015 Oct 1.

The impact of a cancer diagnosis on health and well-being: a prospective, population-based study

Kate Williams  1 , Sarah E Jackson  1 , Rebecca J Beeken  1 , Andrew Steptoe  2 , Jane Wardle  1
Affiliations

The impact of a cancer diagnosis on health and well-being: a prospective, population-based study

Kate Williams et al. Psychooncology. 2016 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: Little is known about the trajectory of health and well-being from before to after a cancer diagnosis. This study aimed to examine changes in health and well-being across three time points (0-2 years before a cancer diagnosis, 0-2 years post-diagnosis and 2-4 years post-diagnosis) in individuals receiving a new cancer diagnosis, and at matched time points in a cancer-free comparison group.

Methods: Data were from waves 1-6 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Repeated-measures ANOVAs were used to examine differences in self-rated health, mobility impairments, activities of daily living impairments, quality of life, depressive symptoms and life satisfaction by group and time, and group-by-time interactions.

Results: Of the 4565 participants with data from three time points, 444 (9.7%) reported a new cancer diagnosis. Those in the cancer group reported poorer self-rated health (p < .001), quality of life (p < .001) and life satisfaction (p < .01) than participants in the comparison group, and a higher proportion reported depressive symptoms (p < .001) and impairments in mobility (p < .001) and activities of daily living (p < .001). All markers of health and well-being worsened significantly over time. The group-by-time interaction was significant for self-rated health (p < .001), with a greater decline in health over time in the cancer group.

Conclusions: Cancer survivors in this sample had poorer health and well-being than those with no diagnosis, and self-rated health deteriorated more rapidly following a cancer diagnosis. Screening for these factors around the time of a cancer diagnosis could allow for interventions to be targeted effectively and improve the health and well-being of cancer survivors. © 2015 The Authors. Psycho-Oncology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Keywords: cancer; depression; longitudinal; oncology; quality of life; survivorship.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mean self‐rated health (with 95% confidence intervals) for each group at each time point (adjusted for age, sex and wealth)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Proportion with mobility impairments (with 95% confidence intervals) in each group at each time point (adjusted for age, sex and wealth)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Proportion with ADL impairments (with 95% confidence intervals) in each group at each time‐point (adjusted for age, sex and wealth)
Figure 4
Figure 4
Mean quality of life (with 95% confidence intervals) for each group at each time point (adjusted for age, sex and wealth)
Figure 5
Figure 5
Proportion with depressive symptoms (with 95% confidence intervals) in each group at each time point (adjusted for age, sex and wealth)
Figure 6
Figure 6
Mean life satisfaction (with 95% confidence intervals) for each group at each time point (adjusted for age, sex and wealth)
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