Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jul:376:118078.
doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118078. Epub 2025 Apr 18.

Impact of a cancer diagnosis on educational, employment, health-related quality of life, and social outcomes among young adults: A matched cohort study of 401 cancer survivors aged 15-24 in England

R Mattock  1 , A Martin  2 , A E Beckett  2 , O C Lindner  2 , D Stark  3 , R M Taylor  4
Affiliations
Free article

Impact of a cancer diagnosis on educational, employment, health-related quality of life, and social outcomes among young adults: A matched cohort study of 401 cancer survivors aged 15-24 in England

R Mattock et al. Soc Sci Med. 2025 Jul.
Free article

Abstract

Background: Globally, cancer incidence is rising fastest among young people. Existing literature on acute health shocks, including cancer diagnoses, focuses on older working-aged adults.

Methods: Matched cohort study involving 401 young cancer survivors (aged 15-24) in the BRIGHTLIGHT study and 765 UK Household Longitudinal Study controls without cancer between 2013 and 2018. Participants were matched on sex, age, ethnicity, index of multiple deprivation (IMD) quintile, non-cancer health conditions, and follow-up duration. Regression models assessed economic, educational, social, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and mental health outcomes at 6(T1), 12-18(T2), and 24-36 months (T3) post-diagnosis.

Results: Compared to matched controls, those with cancer were: less likely to be in employment, education, or training at T1 (OR = 2.03, p < 0.001) but not at T3 (OR = 0.96, p = 0.18), because transitioning from unemployment or economic inactivity into education was more common (24 % vs 3 % between T1 and T3); less likely to live in parental households at T1 (OR = 0.54, p < 0.001) and T3 (OR = 0.59, p < 0.001); and more likely to experience relationship breakdown (23 % vs 12 % between T1 and T3). Differences in mental health and HRQoL declined over time (mean difference compared to matched controls: T1: -0.07, p < 0.001; T2 and T3: -0.01 p ≥ 0.55). Economic outcomes, mental health and HRQoL utility scores were persistently worse among more severe cancer cases.

Conclusions: Despite having initially poorer health and economic outcomes, cancer survivors in this cohort caught up with their peers within 3 years. Linked clinical data showed those with more severe diagnoses were affected most, indicating scope for improved psychosocial and economic support.

Keywords: Acute health shocks; Cancer severity; Cancer survivors; Education; Employment; HRQoL; Utility scores; Youth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests The authors declare no conflicts of interests.