Does cancer affect marriage rates?

Syse, Astri

doi:10.1007/s11764-008-0062-1

Cited by 34 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 47 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Persons in 'satisfactory' relationship may be expected to marry shortly after diagnosis, while those who perceive themselves in less optimal relationships may postpone or defer marriage. Among younger adults, both skin and testicular cancer has been found to elevate marriage rates [15], whereas no cancer types were associated with increased marriage rates in older adulthood. Brain cancer in younger women was associated with reduced marriage rates [15], but no marriages were observed among older female brain cancer survivors (OR<0.001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among younger adults, both skin and testicular cancer has been found to elevate marriage rates [15], whereas no cancer types were associated with increased marriage rates in older adulthood. Brain cancer in younger women was associated with reduced marriage rates [15], but no marriages were observed among older female brain cancer survivors (OR<0.001). Brain cancer can be extremely debilitating and alter both physical, psychological, and social functioning [24].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The economic-demographic theoretical framework for this study has been presented in detail elsewhere [15]. Summarized, persons with similar intelligence, education, personality, religion, health, and other common traits are predicted to marry each other [17][18][19], thus encompassing cancer illness and illness consequences as a possible negative determinant in marriage formation as various physical, psychological and social effects of cancer may interfere with persons' abilities to undertake their usual chores and obligations in relationships, either temporarily or permanently [20;21].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Attained age, educational level, parity, and calendar period may influence both the chance of getting cancer and marriage rates, and were therefore included in the models and are shown in Table 1. The method and covariates are described in detail elsewhere [15]. In addition, some stratified models and models including interaction terms were set up to explore potential modifying effects of the covariates.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a recently published study, marriage rates among young Norwegian cancer survivors were shown to have become similar to those of the general population with time, although breast and female brain cancer remained associated with reduced rates [15]. Inclusion was, however, limited to persons up to the age of 45 in order to explore a possible mediating effect of fertility.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Marriage after cancer in older adulthood

Syse

Bergva

2009

J Cancer Surviv

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction Cancer's impact on family formation in older adulthood is not well described. Marriage rates among older adults were therefore explored. Method Data on the unmarried Norwegian population aged 45-80 in 1974-2001 (N=306 000) was retrieved from the Cancer Registry, the Central Population Register, and population censuses. Marriage rates for 27600 persons diagnosed with cancer were compared to those of the general population by means of discrete-time hazard regression models. Results Men with cancer had a similar marriage rate as cancer-free men, whereas women experienced a 25% marriage deficit after cancer. This deficit was most pronounced after ovarian (OR 0.48) and breast (OR 0.69) cancer. Marriage rates decreased with time from diagnosis. No cancer forms elevated marriage rates. Conclusion Marriage rates among older male cancer survivors are similar to those of the general population. Ovarian and breast cancer in older women was associated with pronounced marriage deficits. A possible explanation is that these gender-specific cancers relate to aspects of persons' psychological well-being, body image, and sense of femininity. Long-term adverse treatment effects are also common for the cancers in question. To explore explanations further, more details on treatment and illness progression are needed. Implications for cancer survivors Increased awareness of how ovarian and breast cancer may affect (prospects of) interpersonal relationships is valuable for cancer survivors and clinicians, and may facilitate communication of relevant, related issues during consultations. Our findings may suggest a need for more extensive psychosocial follow-up after these gender-specific cancer forms in older women, but further research is clearly warranted.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Marriage after cancer in older adulthood

Syse

Bergva

2009

J Cancer Surviv

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Pregnancy after adolescent and adult cancer: A population‐based matched cohort study

Stensheim

Cvancarova

Møller

et al. 2011

Intl Journal of Cancer

153

110

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite fertility-preserving initiatives, postcancer reproduction is expected to be lower than that of the general population. Using data from the Cancer Registry and the Medical Birth Registry of Norway, postcancer pregnancy rates were analyzed in 27,556 survivors and compared to those from a matched comparison group (''controls'') from the general population. All were born after 1950, diagnosed from 1967 to 2004 at age of 16-45, and had an observation time from the date of diagnosis (assigned date for controls), until pregnancy, death, age 46, or December 31, 2006. Cox regression was used to estimate pregnancy rates, after adjusting for educational level, parity and diagnostic period. Overall, cancer survivors had a lower pregnancy rate than the controls, but the rate for survivors was higher in males than in females [hazard rate (HR) 5 0.74 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.71-0.78) and HR 5 0.61 (95% CI 0.58-0.64), respectively]. However, the rates did not differ between controls and survivors of malignant melanoma or thyroid cancer. By contrast, the lowest HRs for pregnancy occurred in survivors of leukemia, cervical or breast cancer. Increased pregnancy rates during the study period were detected for ovarian cancer [HR 5 0.2 (95% CI 0.1-0.3) to HR 5 0.7 (95% CI 0.5-0.9)], testicular cancer [HR 5 0.6 (95% CI 0.4-0.9) to HR 5 0.8 (95% CI 0.7-0.8)], and Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosed in men [HR 5 0.7 (95% CI 0.5-0.9) to HR 5 0.9 (95% CI 0.7-1.0)]. In summary, fertility-preserving attempts have succeeded in patients with ovarian or testicular cancer and in males with Hodgkin lymphoma. Male survivors initiated pregnancies in a higher degree than female survivors.With improvements in prognosis and longevity after cancer, fertility and parenthood are important quality-of-life issues for cancer survivors, and several fertility-preserving initiatives have been launched.

show abstract

The psychosocial impact of interrupted childbearing in long‐term female cancer survivors

Canada

Schover²

2010

Psycho-Oncology

327

273

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective: To understand the influence of cancer-related infertility on women's long-term distress and quality of life. Women diagnosed at age 40 or less with invasive cervical cancer, breast cancer, Hodgkin disease, or non-Hodgkin lymphoma were interviewed an average of 10 years later. We predicted that women whose desire for a child at diagnosis remained unfulfilled would be significantly more distressed.Methods: Participants completed a semi-structured phone interview, including the SF-12 s , Brief Symptom Inventory-18, Impact of Events Scale (IES), Reproductive Concerns Scale (RCS), brief measures of marital satisfaction or comfort with dating, sexual satisfaction, and menopause symptoms.Results: Of 455 women contacted by phone, 240 (53%) participated. Seventy-seven women had wanted a child at diagnosis but did not conceive subsequently (38 remaining childless and 39 with secondary infertility). Even controlling for other psychosocial and health factors, this group had higher distress about infertility (RCS) (po0.001), had more intrusive thoughts about infertility, and used more avoidance strategies when reminded of infertility (IES) (po0.001). Childless women were the most distressed. Women with adopted or stepchildren were intermediate, and those with at least one biological child were least distressed. Infertilityrelated distress did not differ significantly by cancer site.Conclusions: Even at long-term follow-up, distress about interrupted childbearing persists, particularly in childless women. Social parenthood buffers distress somewhat, but not completely. Not only is it important to offer fertility preservation before cancer treatment, but interventions should be developed for survivors to alleviate unresolved grief about cancer-related infertility.

show abstract

Does cancer affect marriage rates?

Cited by 34 publications

References 47 publications

Marriage after cancer in older adulthood

Marriage after cancer in older adulthood

Pregnancy after adolescent and adult cancer: A population‐based matched cohort study

The psychosocial impact of interrupted childbearing in long‐term female cancer survivors

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About