Long-term Prostate Cancer Survivors With Low Socioeconomic Status Reported Worse Mental Health–related Quality of Life in a Population-based Study

• Published in: Urology (Ridgewood, N.J.) Vol. 76; no. 5; pp. 1224 - 1230
• Main Authors: Aarts, Mieke J, Mols, Floortje, Thong, Melissa S.Y, Louwman, Marieke W, Coebergh, Jan Willem W, van de Poll-Franse, Lonneke V
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.11.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Activities of Daily Living; Affective Symptoms - complications; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Health Status; Humans; Male; Male genital diseases; Medical sciences; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Nephrology. Urinary tract diseases; Prostatic Neoplasms - psychology; Quality of Life; Social Class; Surveys and Questionnaires; Survivors - psychology; Tumors; Tumors of the urinary system; Urinary tract. Prostate gland; Urology; Human; Nephrology; Urinary system disease; Socioeconomic status; Prostate disease; Report; Survivor; Mental health; Malignant tumor; Long term; Health-Related Quality of Life; Urology; Health status; Low; Population; Male genital diseases; Prostate cancer; Cancer
• ISSN: 0090-4295; 1527-9995
• DOI: 10.1016/j.urology.2010.06.013

Objective To explore whether socioeconomic status (SES) was associated with health-related quality of life (HRQL) and health care use among long-term prostate cancer survivors. Patients and Methods Through urologists in the Comprehensive Cancer Center South, all 5- to 10-year prostate cancer survivors known in the Eindhoven Cancer Registry without disease progression were invited to complete the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index, and the Dutch sexual activities module. Multivariate linear regression assessed the effect of SES (based on home value and household income) on HRQL and health care use. Results Five-hundred eighty-four patients (response rate 81%) were included. Survivors with a low SES exhibited lower mental SF-36 scores (6–16 points on a 0–100 scale), independent of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics ( P <.05), and hardly any differences in physical SF-36 subscales, sexual function, and urinary and bowel function and bother. Presence of serious comorbidity had a stronger predictive value for HRQL than SES. Health care use did not seem to be associated with SES. Conclusions Prostate cancer survivors with a low SES exhibited a worse mental but not physical HRQL than those with a higher SES. Long-term health outcomes of patients with low SES may be maximized by paying extra attention to comorbid conditions.